The Supreme Court of Nigeria has reserved judgment in the suit filed by the Osun State Government against the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) over the alleged withholding of local government funds.
According to Mediaplusng.com, the case was heard by a seven-man panel of justices led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, who announced that the date for judgment would be communicated to all parties after considering their arguments.
The Osun State Attorney General approached the apex court, seeking an order compelling the AGF to release statutory allocations to the 30 local government chairmen and councillors across the state. Counsel for the state, Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), urged the court to stop the AGF from withholding or seizing monthly allocations meant for the local councils, emphasizing that the funds belong to duly elected local government officials.
Mediaplusng.com reports that the Osun State Government’s main contention is that the AGF acted improperly by recognizing the APC local government chairmen, despite the elections that brought them into office being nullified by both a Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
However, counsel to the AGF, Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN), urged the Supreme Court to dismiss the suit, arguing that the Osun government lacked the legal authority to invoke the court’s original jurisdiction. He maintained that the Supreme Court does not have jurisdiction to entertain the matter directly and described the suit as an abuse of court process, noting that similar cases had been filed in other courts.
Olujimi further argued that the tenure of the disputed APC chairmen would not end until October 22, 2025, and that the funds in question should be released to them to manage their councils.
The Supreme Court has reserved judgment in the matter and will communicate the ruling date to the parties involved.
