The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Gboyega Oyetola, dismissed the claim by the Osun State House of Assembly, that he is meddling in the affairs of local government in the state.
The Assembly had in a press statement on Sunday morning, frowned at what it described as the “illegal meddleso meness”of the blue economy minister.
It noted that “Mr Oyetola, a nephew to President Tinubu, has no constitutional, statutory, or moral authority to control Local Governments funds, issue instructions on LG funds, influence banks, or direct security agencies in respect of LG administration, adding that “being related to the President confers no legal power to interfere in the affairs of Osun State Local Governments as Nigeria is governed by laws, not family ties.”
But Oyetola, in a statement by his Special Adviser, Dr Bolaji Akinola, said that all local governments in Nigeria have financial autonomy, and are beyond the control of any person or entity, including the state government.
Akinola said the attempt to link Oyetola to the administration or disbursement of local government funds was reckless propaganda designed to distract the public from the state government’s own failures and ongoing legal battles.
He stressed that the Minister has no constitutional or statutory role in local government finance and has neither issued directives to banks nor interfered in the running of local councils.
Dr Akinola stated that the press statement by the Assembly merely recycled the same discredited narratives earlier pushed by Governor Ademola Adeleke, describing them as a desperate attempt to unlawfully reassert state control over local government funds in defiance of binding court judgments.
According to him, “the Osun State Government and the State Assembly are uncomfortable with the reality that local governments have full financial autonomy protected by the Constitution and the Supreme Court.”
He pointed out that the Supreme Court judgment delivered on 11 July 2024 unequivocally granted full financial autonomy to all local governments in Nigeria, affirming their independence and expressly barring state governors from interfering in their affairs or hijacking their funds.
He said the judgment was clear, final and incapable of being overturned by press releases or political threats.
Akinola also recalled that a valid and subsisting judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on 10 February 2025 reinstated the duly elected local government chairmen in Osun State.
He emphasised that the Osun State Government chose not to appeal the judgment, making it final, binding and enforceable in law.
“By that decision, the reinstated chairmen are lawfully entitled to administer their councils, a fact he said the state government has persistently but unsuccessfully sought to undermine,” he added.
