Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Musibau Adetunbi, has criticised the federal government for withholding funds meant for local governments in Osun State, warning that the action undermines the rule of law and democratic governance.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE NEWS on Thursday, Adetunbi said he is not aware of any valid legal ground for the seizure of local government allocations in Osun State.
“To the best of my knowledge, none. I am not aware of any,” he posited.
On the interpretation of the Court of Appeal judgment regarding the matter, he said,
“The Court of Appeal judgment is very clear. If you disagree with it, you are still, fortunately, you are still a step higher. The court says, look, you’ve slept on your rights.”
He added, “And that judgment of the federal court still remains the only one that regulates the affairs of local governments. They even came to say, look, election has been conducted and the people have been sworn in. So, we cannot release your appeal, and it was thrown out.”
Adetunbi also spoke on the role of President Tinubu in the ongoing dispute, saying, “Unfortunately, Mr. President has one advantage. And that advantage is using negatively the disadvantage of the territory of Nigeria.”
“He was a commander of the opposition for years. So, as the commander of the opposition for years, he had the opportunity of studying how to block, how to fight, and he’s using that advantage to block the opposition. Forgetting that the opposition is not about Mr. President; it’s about the country. Without an opposition, we don’t have a country.”
On the options available for resolving the funding crisis, Adetunbi said, “I strongly believe that they can create a way out, even if Mr. President will not oblige or the bank or the Honorable Attorney General will not budge, but they can still do it. When it happens to Tinubu at the end of the day, I strongly believe that they are going to find a way out.”
He also suggested the Supreme Court as a viable route for legal clarity, stating, “A good option is to go to the Supreme Court. If Tinubu was there, Obasanjo refused to implement. And at the end of the day, he had it for posterity’s sake. Yeah, oh my God, are we not talking about it today?”