Osun LG funds: You are a meddlesome interloper with no interest of Osun citizens — APC slams NULGE

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has accused the state chapter of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) of working hand-in-hand with Governor Ademola Adeleke to stall the release of federal allocations due to local government councils.

The controversy deepened after NULGE State President, Dr Nathaniel Ogungbangbe, issued a statement warning the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the Central Bank of Nigeria against releasing accumulated federal allocations to the councils.

Reacting in a statement signed by its chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, the APC argued that NULGE’s seven-month sympathy strike has compounded the delays in the disbursement of funds.

“It is now clear to the public that the NULGE leadership is working in concert with the Adeleke-led administration to prolong the suffering inflicted on the people of Osun through the withholding of local government allocations,” Lawal alleged.

According to him, the union’s prolonged strike—supposedly in solidarity with the state government—has exposed NULGE as little more than a partisan extension of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Lawal dismissed Ogungbangbe’s insistence that the union is non-political, describing it as misleading. He argued that the federal allocations cannot be legitimately withheld since constitutionally recognised local government chairmen and councillors are in office, following the Court of Appeal judgement delivered on 10 February 2025 which reinstated APC council executives across the state.

He called on the Federal Government and its agencies to ignore NULGE’s intervention, which he described as “the metaphorical hand of Jacob with the voice of Esau.”

Lawal went further to challenge Ogungbangbe to explain why council workers were called out on strike for seven months, leaving grassroots governance paralysed. He accused the union leadership of enjoying close ties with the state government while local workers and communities bore the brunt of the impasse.

He criticised NULGE’s warning to federal officials not to release funds to the elected council chairmen and councillors, describing the move as evidence of administrative incompetence.

Quoting legal precedents, including Comrade Nweke and Ors v Comrade Simeon and Ors NICN/EN/37/2018 and Skye Bank v Akinpelu (2010) LPELR-3073(SC), the APC chairman stressed that trade unions are limited to negotiating better employment terms for workers, not meddling in political disputes. He added that NULGE has no legal standing in the pending case before the Supreme Court, as it is neither the APC nor the PDP, nor recognised representatives of elected officials.

“In summary, the role being played by the Osun State NULGE on the delayed payment of federal allocations is that of a meddlesome interloper,” Lawal concluded.