“Only Authorized Officers Can Access LG Accounts” — Osun Lawmakers Issue Stern Warning To FG And CBN

The Osun State House of Assembly has threatened legal action against the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) if the state’s local government allocations are paid into unauthorized accounts.
It will be recalled that local government allocations in Osun State have been withheld due to the ongoing political conflict over control of the local councils between APC and PDP elected officials. This impasse has led to the closure of local government secretariats since February 2025.
However, the State Government, through the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Dosu Babatunde, and the President of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Osun Chapter, Dr. Kehinde Ogungbangbe, has alleged that the AGF’s office and the CBN are plotting to release the withheld funds to APC-elected council officials—contrary to existing legal provisions.
Following extensive deliberations on the matter on Thursday, the Speaker of the House, Mr. Wale Egbedun, read out the Assembly’s resolution. He called on the AGF and the Minister of Finance to instruct the CBN to release all outstanding allocations into authorized accounts, warning that doing otherwise would amount to a diversion of public funds.
According to Egbedun, the House affirms that only duly appointed career officers—specifically, the Director of Finance and the Director of Administration and General Services—are legally recognized as signatories to local government accounts. This is in line with Section 14.0 of the 2025 Guidelines for the Administration of Local Government Areas in Osun State. He added that bank confirmations and schedules shall only be valid when endorsed by the Head of Local Government Administration and the Council Chairman, as required by law.
“Any attempt to substitute these officers with unauthorized persons is not only unlawful but also constitutes an attempt to divert public funds,” Egbedun said. “This House will take all lawful steps to resist, report, and reverse such infractions.”
He continued:
“This Honourable House expresses grave concern over the non-release of statutory local government allocations in Osun State and calls on the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Honourable Minister of Finance to immediately release all outstanding allocations through the lawful local government accounts.
“This House strongly condemns any attempt by unauthorized persons to approach the Central Bank of Nigeria for any transaction relating to local government funds, as this constitutes a violation of the constitutional and statutory financial framework.
“This Honourable House pledges to enforce these resolutions through legal, legislative, and constitutional means—including litigation—to protect the integrity of local government funds and to ensure the proper implementation of local government financial autonomy.”
Egbedun also reaffirmed that, by law, only democratically elected local government council officials—elected during the February 2025 elections—are the legitimate and constitutionally recognized custodians of local government mandates and affairs. He noted that the Federal High Court’s judgment nullifying the October 15, 2022, local government elections remains in force.
The post “Only Authorized Officers Can Access LG Accounts” — Osun Lawmakers Issue Stern Warning To FG And CBN appeared first on TheNigeriaLawyer.

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