By Yemi Oyeyemi.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has reserved judgment in a high-profile legal tussle between the Osun State Government and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) over the release of Local Government (LG) funds. The case, marked SC/CV/773/2025, revolves around whether funds should be disbursed to local government chairmen elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), whose election was nullified by the courts.
During the hearing on Tuesday, a seven-member panel led by Justice Uwani Aba’aji listened to final arguments from both sides before reserving its decision. The date for the ruling will be communicated later to the parties involved.
Representing the Osun State Attorney General, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Musbau Adetumbi urged the apex court to restrain the AGF from releasing statutory allocations to the disputed chairmen. He argued that the AGF’s action—recognizing the APC chairmen despite ongoing court proceedings—was inappropriate and in violation of earlier judgments.
The Osun State Government is seeking an order compelling the AGF to release the withheld LG funds directly to democratically elected officials whose elections were validated by law. The plaintiff contends that the APC chairmen’s elections were previously nullified by a Federal High Court and that this ruling was affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
However, the AGF, represented by legal heavyweight Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN), pushed back with a preliminary objection. He asked the Supreme Court to throw out the suit on several grounds. First, he argued that the Osun Attorney General lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to bring the case, since the dispute is fundamentally a political one between parties. He also challenged the court’s jurisdiction, stating that the matter shouldn’t have been brought directly to the Supreme Court under its original jurisdiction.
Olujimi further contended that the suit lacks a valid cause of action and noted that the tenure of the APC chairmen runs until October 22, making them the rightful recipients of the allocations in question. He accused the Osun Attorney General of engaging in an abuse of court processes by filing multiple similar cases across various high courts.
