Osun PDP petitions embassies, rights groups over withheld LG funds
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, yesterday, denied spending N3.1 billion on foreign trips between January and June 2025, describing the media reports as false and misleading.
He, however, reiterated his commitment to transparency and accountability in managing the state’s finances, saying that the travelling expenses being pushed around represent the near full-year training allocation for the over 100 agencies of the state government.
A statement by the governor’s Spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, said that the governor mostly footed his expenses through the family’s private jet with reference to his recent visit to the United States (U.S.) to reduce the state travel bills.
According to the statement, many agencies undertook their local and international training in the first half of the year because of the anticipated kick-off of pre-2026 political activities in the latter part of the year, describing the alleged sponsoring of Adeleke’s international travelling and training expenditures as mischievous.
Olawale further disclosed that the amount quoted for international travels and trainings for the first two quarters of 2025 was the expenditure of the entire officials of the state government, including commissioners, heads of agencies, management staff of the state-owned tertiary institutions, permanent secretaries and directors of over 100 parastatals, which covers their transportation, accommodation, feeding and so on.
IN another development, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state has petitioned Western embassies and global human rights organisations, accusing the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, and the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, of disobeying a court order regarding local council leadership in the state.
In a statement yesterday, signed by the Osun PDP Chairman, Sunday Bisi, the party alleged that Fagbemi and Oyetola were involved in a plot to undermine a Court of Appeal judgment recognising PDP-elected chairmen and councillors.
The PDP, which claimed that local council allocations meant for the state had been withheld for five consecutive months, described the move as illegal and politically motivated.
The party, therefore, called for international punitive measures, including a visa ban, to compel adherence to constitutional provisions and judicial rulings.
“We seek a visa ban and other sundry punitive actions to force these federal officials to comply with the rule of law. This is a democracy, and no individual should be allowed to breach the constitution and due process,” Bisi added.
The statement, however, called on global bodies to investigate alleged anti-democratic practices and document democratic threats in the state ahead of the 2026 gubernatorial election and the 2027 general elections.
The PDP pledged to continue its protest to international organisations, including Transparency International, Amnesty International, the International Crisis Group, and the European Union.
