The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State has escalated its dispute with federal officials by petitioning Western embassies and global human rights organizations over the alleged withholding of local government funds for five consecutive months.
In a statement issued on Monday and signed by Osun PDP chairman Sunday Bisi, the party accused Attorney General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi and Minister of Marine and Blue Economy Adegboyega Oyetola of deliberately disobeying a Court of Appeal judgment that recognized PDP-elected chairmen and councillors as the legitimate local government leadership in the state.
The PDP specifically alleged that Oyetola was exploiting his family connections to President Bola Tinubu to orchestrate the withholding of funds. "Rather than ensuring compliance with the court order, Mr Oyetola is leveraging his family ties to President Bola Tinubu to illegally withhold Osun local governments' allocations without any valid legal basis," the statement read.
Describing the situation as "worrisome and an open threat to democratic governance," the party has called for international intervention, including visa bans and other punitive measures against the federal officials involved.
"We seek visa ban and other sundry punitive actions to force these federal officials to comply with the rule of law. This is a democracy and no individual should be allowed to breach the constitution and due process," Bisi stated in the petition.
The party has urged international bodies to investigate what it terms as anti-democratic practices and to document potential democratic threats in Osun ahead of the 2026 gubernatorial election. The PDP suggested that global observers should "adopt the Osun 2026 gubernatorial elections as a pre-2027 test case by highlighting risks and opportunities as the elections draw nearer."
According to the statement, the PDP intends to continue its protest to various international organizations including Transparency International, Amnesty International, the International Crisis Group, and the European Union until the elected council leadership is allowed to function and local government funds are released.
"We will not relent until the legitimately elected council leadership in Osun are allowed to function and local government funds are released without further delay," Bisi threatened.
The dispute highlights ongoing tensions in Nigeria's federal system regarding local government autonomy and the implementation of court judgments in politically contentious situations.
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