The State Government of Land of Virtue (Osun) has raised an alarm over an alleged move by top federal agencies to divert statutory allocations meant for local governments in the state into private bank accounts.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday, June 18, by the state’s Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Dosu Babatunde.
According to the commissioner, there are credible reports that officials at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation have finalized plans to disburse local government funds to unauthorized individuals. The state described this alleged scheme as a breach of the constitution and a direct affront to Nigeria’s public finance regulations.
Commissioner Babatunde noted that the state, upon learning of the development, took immediate steps to forestall any illegality. According to him, through the Office of the Auditor General for Local Governments, Osun introduced formally recognized accounting officers — including Heads of Local Government Administration (HLAs) and Directors of Finance — to the CBN.
Despite this, the Commissioner noted that the CBN office in Osogbo reportedly rejected the submitted list of accounting officers. The government expressed suspicion that the rejection was part of a calculated attempt to divert funds into the accounts of individuals linked to former Governor Gboyega Oyetola, bypassing the legitimate custodians of public funds at the local level.
The state however called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to step in, expressing confidence that the President and the Minister of Finance are not privy to what it described as a constitutional overreach.
Commissioner Babatunde emphasized that any funds paid into personal accounts would not be recognized as belonging to Osun’s local governments and warned that the state would take all necessary legal measures to address any unlawful disbursement.
He concluded by urging the Presidency to act swiftly to prevent individuals “driven by selfish interests” from undermining due process and tampering with public funds in Osun State.
