The Osun State Government has disclosed that it has spent about N100 billion of its own resources to meet local government salary obligations amid the lingering dispute over the administration and funding of the councils in the state.
The Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, made the disclosure on Thursday during an interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, less than 48 hours before the Osun governorship election.
Alimi alleged that the Federal Government had been paying local government allocations directly to officials backed by the All Progressives Congress, APC, since the dispute began, leaving the state government to shoulder the financial responsibilities of the councils.
According to him, the local governments require about N6.5 billion monthly to pay their workers and meet other statutory obligations, including salaries of primary school teachers, health workers, pensioners and traditional rulers.
He said the Adeleke administration had continued to bear the burden despite not having access to the disputed allocations.
“The salary implication of responsibility of a local government in Osun as at today, based on the minimum wage that we have paid is N6.5 billion,” Alimi said.
The commissioner claimed that the state government had been financing the obligation since February 2025, describing the additional expenditure as a bailout necessitated by the local government crisis.
“Since the allocation has been paid to the APC, he refused to pay the workers,” he alleged, referring to the APC-backed council officials.
Alimi further alleged that the Federal Government, through the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Minister of Finance, facilitated the opening of separate accounts through which the APC-backed council officials allegedly received and operated the allocations.
“What is happening in Osun is an aberration. The office of the Accountant-General, in collusion with the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Minister of Finance, all colluded together, and asked the APC to go and open an account for the federal local government in UBA,” he alleged.
He maintained that the disputed allocations were not being paid into the state’s joint account, insisting that the arrangement in Osun was different from what obtained in other states.
“Allocation in Osun is not being paid to any joint account,” he said.
The commissioner said the state government’s monthly salary obligation was about N8 billion, while Osun’s average monthly allocation was between N11 billion and N12 billion. He argued that the state would ordinarily have funds left for development after meeting its salary and running costs.
“After the payment of salaries and allowances and running cost, whatever remains will now be used for developmental projects. But from February, the state will still have to carry the burden of about N6.5 billion,” he said.
Alimi also alleged that the state government’s financial exposure from the dispute was approaching N300 billion, claiming that about N100 billion had so far been spent by the state to cushion the impact.
“They know that immediately Adeleke wins, all their delay in the cases will be removed, and at the end of the day, they will have to answer for almost N300 billion,” he alleged.
He accused the APC-backed council officials of mismanaging the allocations and alleged that some of the funds were used to procure vehicles for security agencies.
“The only thing they did was that in order to justify the payment, the money they are sharing among themselves, they bought vehicles for the police in the name of they wanted to curb the insecurity,” Alimi alleged.
The commissioner linked the local government dispute to what he described as broader efforts to weaken the Adeleke administration ahead of the election, alleging that the financial pressure was designed to make the government unable to meet its obligations.
“They thought, by the time they took that test, that three or four months, the government will collapse. The government will not be able to meet the salary obligations, the worker will go on strike, and then it will be very easy for them,” he said.
Alimi also urged voters to reject intimidation and turn out to exercise their franchise, saying the people of Osun were determined to protect their votes.
“We will refuse to be intimidated. Our people will stand by their vote, will come out to vote and will stand by their vote and we are going to defeat them,” he said.
The allegations come amid a prolonged dispute between the Osun State Government and APC-aligned council officials over local government administration and access to allocations. The state government has maintained that the council funds were being paid outside its control, while APC officials have accused the Adeleke administration of financial mismanagement.
In an earlier public exchange over the matter, APC media spokesman Adebayo Adedeji rejected the government’s financial claims, arguing that Osun receives substantially higher monthly allocations than the state government had acknowledged. He said the state’s wage obligations should leave funds available for other expenditure.
