A senior aide to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has accused Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke of misleading the public over local government funding, as disagreements over the control and operation of councils in the state continue.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Dr Bolaji Akinola, special adviser to the minister, rejected claims by Governor Adeleke that funds meant for Osun local governments were being withheld, describing the allegation as “propaganda, falsehood and deliberate misinformation”.

He said the governor’s comments were aimed at deflecting attention from what he termed “administrative failure and disregard for judicial authority”.

Akinola said any complications surrounding local government financing were the result of actions taken by the Osun State Government itself, including what he described as repeated legal challenges.

“If there is any delay or complication in financial disbursements, the responsibility lies squarely with the Adeleke-led Osun State Government, which has flooded the courts with frivolous and ill-conceived lawsuits in a failed attempt to overturn settled judicial decisions,” he said, adding: “No serious government sabotages its own legal standing and then seeks scapegoats for the consequences.”

He also disputed claims that local government administration in the state remained paralysed, saying council secretariats were open and operating. “The local government secretariats are open and functioning. Services continue to run, workers are back to their posts, and council administrations are carrying out their statutory responsibilities. The narrative of paralysis exists only in the imagination of a governor using falsehood to seek public sympathy,” Akinola said.

The minister’s aide referred to a Court of Appeal judgement delivered on 10 February 2025, which he said reinstated elected local government chairmen in Osun State. According to him, the judgement was not appealed by the state government and therefore remains binding.

“The continued agitation by Governor Adeleke represents a deliberate refusal to accept judicial authority,” he said.

On the issue of tenure, Akinola maintained that the reinstated chairmen were elected for a three-year term and were removed unlawfully shortly after assuming office.

He said disputes over tenure were now before the courts and warned against what he described as misinformation on the matter.

He further cited a Supreme Court ruling of 11 July 2024 granting financial autonomy to local governments nationwide, arguing that it affirmed councils as an independent tier of government and barred governors from dissolving elected councils or imposing caretaker committees.

“Adeleke should perish the thought of interfering with local government administration in Osun State. The councils are autonomous, lawful, and operational,” he said.

Akinola also dismissed allegations that Minister Oyetola was influencing the Nigeria Police, describing such claims as “false, inflammatory and irresponsible”. He said the police operated within established command structures and were not subject to control by any individual minister.

He insisted that Osun’s local governments were “lawful, autonomous, functional, and protected by binding court judgements”, adding that “the only crisis presently facing the system is a governor unwilling to accept legal reality”.