A factional group of local government employees in Osun State, operating under the guidance of the Association of Concerned Local Government Workers, has instructed striking workers throughout the state to return to their duties immediately.
The local government administration in Osun has been halted since Monday, February 17, 2025, due to violent conflicts between supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party and the opposition All Progressives Congress regarding control of the councils.
At that time, the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, under the leadership of its state president in Osun, Dr Kehinde Ogungbangbe, instructed staff to refrain from attending their workstations.
The order, as he stated, aimed to keep employees from suffering harm during the political conflicts.
Nevertheless, on Thursday in Osogbo, the State Coordinator of the factional group, Adedayo Adekunle, criticized NULGE's leadership for being insensitive by leaving workers at home for seven months and called on local government employees to come back to their offices right away.
Adekunle, during a statement to reporters, urged security agencies to safeguard employees, emphasizing that local government workers remain neutral in political matters.
He stated, "In order to prevent decline and potential job loss, worried local government employees are urging all loyal and law-abiding local government workers to return to their duties immediately. Our information indicates that a staff audit is scheduled for next week to determine the exact number of personnel present in the office."
Furthermore, all employees are required to present their initial appointment letter, confirmation letter, and most recent promotion letter to their respective council for straightforward and accurate verification of genuine staff members. In continuation of the aforementioned, we would like to take this opportunity to assure our members that we remain neutral in political matters.
However, in a counter-statement authored by its Publicity Secretary, David Owoeye, Osun NULGE rejected the directive, stating that neither the state nor national leadership had requested members to return to work.
The statement reportedly stated, “The Union is utilizing this platform to notify our highly respected and honored members that this information did not come from the elected State NULGE Executives led by Comrade Dr. Nathaniel Kehinde Ogungbangbe, and there is no such directive from the national branch of our Union under the leadership of Comrade Haruna Aliyu Kankara.”
It was written to disrupt the state's peace, enabling our members to be killed and weakening our membership. Hence, the Union is urging all our respected members to view this document as the work of those who seek our destruction, and it should be entirely discarded. Members are advised to remain away from office until further instructions from the genuine elected State NULGE leadership under Com. Dr. Nathaniel Kehinde Ogungbangbe.
In the meantime, the Osun State House of Assembly has once more cautioned commercial banks within the state to refrain from following unauthorized financial directives on local government accounts.
In a letter signed by the Speaker, Mr Adewale Egbedun, and dated Thursday, October 2, 2025, the Assembly highlighted what it referred to as illegal financial instructions reportedly issued in certain local governments, such as Boluwaduro, which permitted the deduction of up to 15 percent of the September 2025 funds for the benefit of private individuals.
The letter stated in part, “Therefore, you are officially cautioned against complying with any instruction — verbal, written, or digital — that permits the spending, deduction, or reallocation of public funds from any local government account held in your bank unless the instruction comes from the legally designated signatories and is backed by explicit budgetary approval from the House.”
Any action that violates this stance will incur full constitutional and legal repercussions, such as being called before the House, the issuance of arrest warrants, and referrals to anti-corruption bodies for inquiry and prosecution.
Your organization may also face being listed on a blacklist and have its authorization to manage government accounts revoked. Please note that your reply to our original request is still due within the 24-hour period that has already been specified.
PUNCH Online states that the Assembly, on Monday, approved comparable resolutions cautioning commercial banks against permitting unauthorized signatories to access funds designated for the 30 local government areas within the state.
In a statement from the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, Olamide Tiamiyu, the lawmakers emphasized that only officially authorized personnel employed by the Local Government Service Commission are allowed to be signatories on council accounts.
The Assembly's decisions partially state: “That any effort by unauthorized individuals to access Local Government funds is illegal, against the constitution, and has no legal validity;”
All commercial and other financial entities functioning within Osun State are required to strictly adhere to this Resolution, while government departments are responsible for thorough oversight and implementation;
That any breach of this instruction will be considered as supporting and facilitating financial fraud and will result in full legal repercussions according to the law; and
This action is undertaken for the benefit of the public, aiming to protect the resources of our local governments, promote responsibility, and ensure that funds intended for community-level development are shielded from misuse or misdirection.
The Assembly also called on members of the public to stay alert and inform the appropriate authorities about any suspected violations.
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc.Syndigate.info).
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