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The Movement for Credible Elections (MCE) has strongly condemned the continued withholding of statutory allocations meant for local government councils in Osun State, describing the action as unlawful, immoral and a dangerous abuse of federal power aimed at politically coercing a duly elected state government.

In a press statement issued on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, which was signed by its media coordinator, Comrade James Ezema, the Movement accused the Federal Government of deliberately frustrating the Osun State Government in a bid to compel Governor Ademola Adeleke to align with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress (APC).

Leaders of the Steering Council of the newly launched Movement include Dr Usman Bugaje, Professor Pat Utomi, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, Barrister Femi Falana, SAN, Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo, Hajia (Dr) Bilikisu Magoro, Comrade Ene Obi, Comrade Salisu Mohammed, Comrade Bala Zakka, among others.

Speaking on behalf of the Movement, the Head of Secretariat, Che Olawale Okunniyi, described the Federal Government’s refusal to release the funds as a calculated political ploy rather than an act of governance.

“This is not governance; this is blackmail. It is an unconscionable use of state power to starve the third tier of government of funds guaranteed by the Constitution, simply to achieve partisan political agenda of self perpetuation,” Okunniyi stated.

The MCE stressed that local governments are a constitutionally recognised and autonomous tier of government and that statutory allocations belong to the people at the grassroots, not to the Federal Government or any ruling party. According to the Movement, the continued withholding of the funds has translated into unpaid salaries, crippled primary healthcare services, abandoned basic education responsibilities and untold hardship for ordinary citizens across Osun State.

Okunniyi described the situation as ironic and deeply disturbing, recalling that similar actions were widely condemned when President Tinubu served as Governor of Lagos State under former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

“What was wrong with such action then—unconstitutional and oppressive—cannot suddenly become right today,” he said.

The Movement warned that history was repeating itself in a most unfortunate manner, noting that the practice of withholding or manipulating local government allocations has long been denounced by democrats, organised civil society, the courts and even Tinubu himself during his tenure as governor, as a violation of constitutional democracy and democratic federalism.

“It is unlawful and morally indefensible for an APC-led Federal Government to seize or withhold allocations meant for the third tier government in Osun State. Local government funds should not be tools for political bargaining, coercion or vindictive politics,” Okunniyi asserted.

The MCE also berated President Tinubu for allowing local government councils in Osun State to be subjected to what it described as illegal occupation by APC members acting as chairmen and councillors, despite their mandates having been nullified by the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo in November 2022. That judgment, the Movement noted, was upheld by the Court of Appeal on February 10 and reaffirmed on June 13, 2025, on the grounds that the elections were conducted in clear violation of the law.

According to the Movement, the affected officials have refused to vacate the council secretariats in what it described as a brazen subversion of the rule of law, allegedly emboldened by partisan backing from the Police.

The MCE further revealed that, having realised their tenure had legally expired, the APC chairmen and councillors approached the Federal High Court seeking the elongation of their expired tenure, a case that is yet to be heard. The Movement said the very act of seeking such an extension amounted to a clear admission that whatever tenure they claimed to have had had since expired.

Warning of the broader implications, the Movement cautioned that continuing on this path poses grave dangers to Nigeria’s democracy, the rule of law and national cohesion. It warned that normalising the financial strangulation of states and local governments on the basis of partisan schemes sets a precedent capable of destabilising Nigeria’s democratic order.

The MCE therefore called on the Federal Government to immediately and unconditionally release all withheld statutory allocations due to Osun State local governments and to desist from actions that undermine constitutional governance.

“We urge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to rise above partisan pressures, act as the President of all Nigerians, and put an end to this coercive and anti-democratic practice. Democracy cannot survive where the Constitution is subordinated to party interests,” the statement concluded.

The Movement reaffirmed its commitment to defending democracy and constitutionalism through popular advocacy for credible elections and called on civil society organisations, labour unions, professional bodies and all lovers of democracy to remain vigilant and ready to mobilise in Abuja and Osun State against what it described as a grave injustice against the people of Osun.