The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Osun State chapter, has accused the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of colluding with members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to illegally open bank accounts in the names of local governments.

At a press conference held in Osogbo on Thursday, the state ALGON chairman, Hon. Sarafadeen Awotunde, flanked by other members of the association, alleged that the scheme was exposed when Mr. Kunle Adegoke (popularly known as KRAD), an APC governorship aspirant and counsel to the party, admitted on a live television programme that CBN had opened accounts for councils in Osun with APC members as signatories.

“On the 28th of August, 2025, during a live broadcast of the ARISE TV Morning Show, Mr. Kunle Adegoke openly admitted that the Central Bank of Nigeria has opened accounts in the names of local government councils in Osun State, and that the signatories to those accounts are not the legitimate civil servants but members of the APC recruited to claim local government civil service positions and offices illegally,” the ALGON leadership declared.

The council bosses condemned the development as “a brazen illegality” and “an attempt to divert Osun people’s money into private and political pockets.”

They stressed that by law, only statutory civil servants such as Heads of Local Government Administration, Directors of Administration and Directors of Finance are the recognised signatories to council accounts.

“Throughout the democratic world, politicians do not sign government cheques,” the statement added.

ALGON further pointed out that the individuals parading themselves as APC council chairmen lacked legitimacy, citing judicial pronouncements that had voided their elections.

“Their purported election was nullified by the judgment of the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo on 30th November, 2022, a judgment that was further affirmed by the Court of Appeal in Akure on 13th June, 2025. That is the settled law. They remain sacked,” ALGON emphasised.

The chairmen expressed alarm that officials of the Osogbo branch of the CBN allegedly turned away the genuine civil servants when they attempted to open the local government accounts, while accepting APC members as signatories.

“This action is a brazen illegality, a disregard for subsisting court judgments, an infraction against banking and public account rules, and a direct threat to the welfare of the people of Osun State whose funds are at stake,” they said.

To back up their claim, ALGON said it has submitted certified documents including: copy of the regulation prescribing statutory signatories to local government accounts; the withdrawal of certificates of return earlier issued to the sacked APC chairmen by the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC); valid certificates of return issued to ALGON leaders on February 22, 2025; and the two court judgments affirming their legitimacy.

The group demanded an urgent investigation of the matter by the CBN leadership, insisting that “the Governor of the Central Bank must immediately probe the actions of its officials in Osogbo and call the APC lawyer, Mr. Kunle Adegoke, to substantiate his claims on national television.”

ALGON also queried why Osun State appeared to be singled out by the federal authorities in the disbursement of local government funds.

“As we speak here today, all local governments in all the other 35 states have continued to receive their monthly allocations through the State-Local Government Joint Accounts as contained in the 1999 Constitution. The AGF and his allies are upholding the rule of power and politics over the rule of law. It is most unfortunate,” the organization said.

The chairmen concluded with a pledge to resist what they called a dangerous plot against the people of the state. “We assure the people of Osun State that ALGON will not relent in defending the mandate freely given to us and in protecting the collective patrimony of our local governments. Justice must prevail,” Osun ALGON added. (THISDAY)