The federal high court in Abuja has scheduled September 29 to deliver a ruling on a motion by Osun state government seeking the transfer of a case on withheld local government (LG) funds to its Osogbo division.
Gatekeepers News reports that during Monday’s hearing, Osun’s counsel, Musibau Adetumbi, argued that with the court’s vacation ending on September 16, the matter should no longer remain in Abuja.
He maintained that the fiat earlier issued to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) during the vacation period had expired.
Adetumbi also challenged the validity of a letter assigning the case to Justice Emeka Nwite in Abuja, claiming it was signed by a personal assistant to the personal assistant of the chief judge, a designation he described as “unknown to law.”
The state’s counsel urged the court to determine the legality of the assignment before addressing the substantive issues.
Opposing the application, Muritala Abdulrasheed, counsel to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Tajudeen Oladoja, representing the accountant-general of the federation, argued that the objection was merely a tactic to stall proceedings.
They noted that the tenure of the APC local government chairmen and councillors in question would lapse on October 22, potentially rendering the case irrelevant.
Earlier, the court struck out the name of the AGF as a defendant after the plaintiffs withdrew their claims against him, citing a related suit pending before the Supreme Court.
The case, filed by Osun attorney-general Oluwole Jimi-Bada, seeks to prevent the CBN and the accountant-general from disbursing funds to APC chairmen and councillors elected in October 2022.
The state insists that the officials were removed by a federal high court judgment, later upheld by the court of appeal, and that releasing funds to them would amount to contempt of court.
Osun is also asking the court for an interim injunction restraining the federal agencies from releasing LG allocations to the affected officials pending the determination of the matter.
