The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Tuesday reserved judgment in a suit filed by the Osun State Government against the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) over withheld local government funds.

Justice Uwani Aba'aji, who led a seven-man panel of Justices during the proceedings, announced that the date for judgment delivery in the suit numbered SC/CV/773/2025 would be communicated to both parties when ready.

The case involves the Osun State Government seeking to restrain the AGF from releasing withheld local government funds to chairmen elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Musbau Adetumbi, SAN, represented the Osun State Attorney General, while Chief Akin Olujimi, SAN, stood for the AGF during the court session.

Details of the Legal Battle

In the suit, the Osun Attorney General sought an order directing the AGF to immediately release statutory allocations to chairmen and councilors allegedly validly elected for the 30 Local Government Areas of Osun State.

The plaintiff invoked the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction based on a letter by the AGF that recognized the disputed APC chairmen. The Osun State Government also sought an order to prevent the AGF from further withholding, suspending, or seizing monthly allocations and revenues for the local governments.

The Osun Attorney General argued that the AGF was wrong to recognize APC LG chairmen when the matter was pending before courts of record. Additionally, the plaintiff claimed that the election that brought in the APC officials as LG chairmen and councillors had been nullified by a Federal High Court and upheld by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

AGF's Opposition

In opposition, the AGF, represented by Akin Olujimi, SAN, filed a preliminary objection urging the apex court to dismiss the case on various grounds.

Olujimi argued that the plaintiff lacked legal standing to bring the case before the Supreme Court as the matter is between two political parties. He further contended that the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit because it was not competent to be presented directly to the apex court.

The senior lawyer also maintained that the suit did not disclose any cause of action, adding that the tenure of the disputed council chairmen is still running until October 22, and that the proper action would be for statutory allocations to be released to them to run the councils.

Additionally, he argued that the Osun State Attorney General had engaged in abuse of court processes by filing cases in about seven high courts on the same subject with the same parties.

The outcome of this case could have significant implications for local government administration and funding in Osun State, as well as set precedents for similar disputes across Nigeria.

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