NEWS
Osun LG Crisis: Adeleke Calls Out Tinubu Over Court-Sacked APC Chairmen
Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has called out President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the crisis engulfing the Local Government Areas (LGA) of the state.
Gov Adeleke accused the Blue Economy Minister, Gboyega Oyetola of masterminding the ongoing Osun LGA crisis, and asserted that the self-awarded tenure of APC Chairmen lapsed in 2025, which means that it cannot be elongated under the law and Supreme Court precedents.
A government house statement in Osogbo has it that Gov Adeleke was reacting to the Oyetola’s statement authored by his Special Adviser, and faulted the entire submission of the minister on the local government crisis, positing that the former Governor remains the chief architect of the paralysis and the untold hardship being inflicted on Osun people.
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According to the statement, the state governor averred that a Federal High Court as against the claims that Gov Adeleke sacked the APC chairmen in 2022 and the judgment was later validated by a Court of Appeal judgement which also acknowledged that newly validly elected chairmen and councillors of the PDP were already sworn into office.
The governor further reminded the minister if he had forgotten that the APC chairmen were sacked by the Court because their election was conducted under Mr Oyetola in violation of the electoral act which stipulates a one year notice before conducting local elections.
The statement queried Mr Oyetola on his motive for conducting local government election in violation of the law and soon after he lost his re-election bid in 2022, insisting that the minister should bear full responsibility for the paralysis of the councils which are well known to the masses of Osun state.
While the APC insisted on not quitting office despite Court rulings and while the minister ensued the seizure of Osun local governments allocations, the state governor said he implemented regular payments of salaries of local workers, questioning why Mr Oyetola prefers local workers to suffer even after blocking funding flow to the local government system.
The governor expressed shock at the minister’s denial of paralysis of local government in Osun, calling it an insult to Osun traditional rulers whose salaries could not be paid; a denigration of local workers who survive only through salaries minus the allowances; and gross contempt for local government workers who were recently molested and harassed by APC thugs and tenure-less chairmen.
“Under what authority is Mr Oyetola and his cronies in the guise of council chairmen disbursing funds meant for salaries of local government workers. Under what authority is he deciding who gets paid or not? Why are they not paying salaries of local health workers, local teachers and local retirees?”, the governor questioned.
Gov Adeleke puts the minister, the UBA and the court sacked chairmen on notice that those who mishandled Osun local government fund are going to be held accountable, adding “current mishandling of local funds will not go unpunished as this is daylight’s robbery of people’s money”
The governor further described as an attempted escape from reality the Minister’s denial of tenure lapsing for his court sacked chairmen, asking what is the legal basis for the belief of the minister that being in court is sufficient to continue in office and tampering with public funds through the backdoor.
It is even troubling for democratic sanity for the minister to hold an opinion that those who disobeyed a subsisting court judgement that sacked them from office should continue to stay in office after the expiration of such self awarded tenure contrary to the constitution and Supreme Court ruling that forbids tenure elongation.
The governor who described himself as an advocate of local government autonomy accused the minister and his party of trampling on local autonomy by self-imposing unelected politicians, by disobeying court orders, by violating laws on the operations of local government finance, and by illegally enforcing unconstitutional tenure elongation.
The governor cannot keep quiet when local workers are not being paid, when local health centres and local retirees are denied their allowances and salaries. The governor cannot keep quiet when unauthorised, unelected officials are handling local government funds.
The governor again called on Mr Oyetola to stop dragging President Bola Tinubu’s name in the mud, charging him to lift his siege on Osun local government secretariats; get his tenure-less chairmen out of the councils; stop issuing illegal directives to the police ; and allow Osun people to breathe.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the Appropriation (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill, 2025, into law, extending the implementation period of the 2025 budget from September 30 to December 31, 2026.
The development was confirmed in a statement issued on Wednesday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
According to the statement, the presidential assent followed the passage of the amendment by both the Senate and the House of Representatives on Tuesday, September 29, 2026.
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The extension gives Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) additional time to complete ongoing capital projects and utilise funds already appropriated.
The Presidency said the move would ensure that funds already approved in the 2025 budget are fully put to work without disrupting critical government programmes.
The National Assembly had approved the extension after lawmakers considered the need to provide additional time for the implementation of capital projects under the 2025 Appropriation Act.
The Senate had described the extension as necessary to prevent the abandonment of ongoing projects and allow outstanding obligations relating to projects to be addressed.
With the President’s assent, the 2025 budget implementation deadline is now formally extended to December 31, 2026.
President Tinubu commended the leadership and members of the National Assembly for what he described as their prompt consideration of the amendment.
He said the development further demonstrated cooperation between the Executive and Legislative arms of government in the service of the country.
The latest extension marks another adjustment to the implementation timeline of the 2025 capital budget, which had previously been extended from its original deadline to March 31, June 30 and subsequently September 30, 2026.
The Federal Government has begun discussions with electricity distribution companies (DisCos) on plans to establish dedicated energy zones that could provide 24-hour electricity supply to homes, businesses and industries in major demand centres across Nigeria.
The initiative was discussed during a closed-door meeting between the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, and representatives of selected electricity distribution companies and other power-sector stakeholders on Wednesday.
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Under the proposed arrangement, the government is targeting six major locations across three key electricity corridors: the Lagos axis, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano corridor, and the Enugu-Port Harcourt corridor.
The proposed zones are intended to concentrate efforts on areas where reliable electricity is considered critical to manufacturing, commercial activities and other productive sectors.
Tegbe said the challenge facing Nigeria’s power sector goes beyond electricity generation and transmission, noting that distribution companies must also be able to take up available electricity and deliver it effectively to consumers.
“The constraint on the sector is not limited to generation and transmission but includes how much power is taken up and delivered at the distribution end,” the minister said.
According to him, the proposed energy zones are expected to help address gaps at the distribution end of the electricity value chain, while also supporting increased commercial and industrial demand.
The minister said the initiative could improve the revenue and collection performance of DisCos as more reliable electricity becomes available to productive users.
He also said the Federal Government would continue expanding electricity infrastructure in areas with high demand, stressing that electricity supply capacity must increase alongside the needs of the economy.
Representatives of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, Ikeja Electric, Eko Power, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company and Sahara Energy Group were among those reported to have attended the meeting.
However, the government has not announced a specific implementation date, the amount of electricity expected to be supplied to the proposed zones or the infrastructure investment required to achieve round-the-clock supply.
The plan comes as businesses and households continue to face concerns over the reliability of electricity supply and the ability of DisCos to efficiently distribute available power.
The President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, has challenged ADC chieftain Dino Melaye to account for his record of supporting students after the former senator criticised the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
Afeez made the remarks in a video circulating on social media on Tuesday while reacting to Melaye’s comments about the Federal Government’s student loan programme.
The NANS president questioned whether Melaye had personally provided scholarships or bursaries to students in his constituency.
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“Dino Melaye should come out and tell us if he has even given ₦5,000 as scholarship to students in his area, as bursary to students in his constituency,” Afeez said.
He questioned why Melaye should be the person shaping public opinion on education policy, particularly given his previous tenure in the Senate.
“Dino Melaye was a member of the 8th Senate, and I think he was one of the strongest members of the 8th Senate who was closer to the Senate President. What was his policy on education? What did he do to the students in his constituency?” he asked.
Afeez also criticised Melaye’s understanding of the NELFUND programme, saying the former lawmaker appeared to have confused the monthly upkeep payment with the entire support provided under the scheme.
“If Dino Melaye had done some research at all, he wouldn’t have embarrassed himself like that on national television stating that just ₦20,000 was given to students per year,” the NANS president said.
He explained that NELFUND provides educational loans as well as monthly upkeep support to beneficiaries.
“NELFUND has loan, and NELFUND has upkeep. Students are getting their educational loan and they are also getting the upkeep monthly,” Afeez said.
“And the upkeep is not just ₦20,000 a year, it’s ₦20,000 monthly,” he added.
Afeez further questioned whether Melaye had examined NELFUND’s publicly available information before making his claims.
“Even if Dino Melaye should go to ordinary NELFUND page, he will see schools acknowledging that they have received money from NELFUND,” he said.
The NANS president also took a strong position on Melaye’s criticism, describing the ADC chieftain as a comedian and questioning whether people still take his comments seriously.
“Do people still take Dino Melaye serious? Dino Melaye is a comedian. He is a jester,” Afeez said.
He argued that anyone commenting on education policy should be sufficiently informed about the subject.
“It is not about campaign and it’s not about supporting, but one fact is that if you want to talk about the education policy of the present administration, you have to have something upstairs,” he said.
Afeez also alleged that Melaye had previously asked students to endorse former presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar during the last election and subsequently failed to fulfil promises made to them.
“Dino Melaye, last election, came to Southwest to deceive students to endorse Atiku. After those students endorsed Atiku, he ran away with their money,” Afeez alleged.
He further claimed that Melaye had promised the students a vehicle.
Afeez concluded by dismissing Melaye’s criticism and saying NANS would continue to defend students’ interests.
The exchange followed Melaye’s earlier criticism of NELFUND, in which he described the programme as a “haven of corruption” and questioned the Federal Government’s claim that it was paying students’ school fees.
Melaye had specifically questioned the ₦20,000 payment, asking: “Which government school today takes ₦20,000 annual school fees?”
He also challenged NELFUND to publish the names of students who had benefited from the programme.
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