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Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has alleged that more than 60 leaders of the Accord Party were arrested by the police and transferred to correctional facilities in Abuja and Nasarawa State despite the availability of courts in Osun State. Adeleke made the allegation on Thursday while speaking at a peace summit in Osogbo ahead of the August 15 governorship election. In a statement shared on his X account, the governor claimed that his administration and supporters had been subjected to sustained attacks over the past three months, accusing former Osun State Governor and Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, of orchestrating the violence. “I should have boycotted this peace meeting because of the violence unleashed on Osun State in the last few months, on the directive of Gboyega Oyetola,” Adeleke said. “Our gathering is to endorse peace, but my government and people are facing police-sanctioned violence and intimidation.” The governor also accused the Osun State Police Command of aiding attacks against his supporters. According to Adeleke, more than 60 Accord Party leaders, including the party’s House of Representatives candidate, Hon. Alaba, were arrested and moved to correctional facilities in Abuja and Nasarawa State. “Why Abuja? We have both the Federal High Court and State High Courts in Osun State, where anyone can be arraigned,” he said. Adeleke further alleged that the Secretary to the State Government, Teslim Igbalaye, was arrested on what he described as fabricated charges after police officers allegedly raided his residence without a court-authorised warrant. The governor claimed that eight members of his party had been killed and more than 20 others injured in recent attacks, alleging that none of the perpetrators had been prosecuted. “There is no single prosecution or active arrest till date. The perpetrators are known Osun APC thugs with crimes committed in the presence of the police,” he alleged. He appealed to the Inspector-General of Police to return those in custody to Osun State and prosecute them in courts within the state if there was evidence they had committed any offence. “Those remanded in prisons should be returned to Osun State and charged before courts in Osun State if the police can show they have committed any crime,” Adeleke said. The governor also called on President Bola Tinubu to caution Oyetola and the Osun State Commissioner of Police against what he described as further acts of intimidation and violence. The allegations come after the police arrested Igbalaye and five other individuals over alleged vote-buying. Police spokesperson Abiodun Ojelabi said officers recovered ₦4.8 million and other electoral materials from a residence linked to the Secretary to the State Government. Political tension has continued to rise in Osun State ahead of the August 15 governorship election, with the Accord Party and the All Progressives Congress (APC) trading accusations over recent incidents of violence and intimidation.

The Forum of Local Government Chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has said governors elected on the party’s platform are committed to implementing the Supreme Court judgment granting financial autonomy to Nigeria’s 774 local government councils. Chairman of Chanchaga Local Government Area in Niger State and Chairman of the Progressives Local Government Chairmen Forum, Dr Mustafa Jibril Alheri, made the remarks while briefing journalists in Abuja after leading members of the forum to a meeting with the APC national leadership. Alheri dismissed claims that APC governors were resisting the implementation of local government autonomy, describing the process as gradual and noting that relations between council chairmen and their governors remain cordial. “I want to also use this opportunity to assure you that we have the support of our governors. My own governor, the Governor of Niger State, Farmer Mohammed Umar Bago, is a strong supporter of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and one of the greatest leaders we have had regarding the issue of local government autonomy,” he said. According to him, several APC-controlled states are already implementing the Supreme Court ruling as part of a transition process. “The President has been pursuing this for a very long time, and a lot of our states, especially the progressive states, are enjoying full autonomy. It is a gradual transition process that has been going on for a long time. The APC, through the leadership of the President, is committed to ensuring complete local government autonomy,” Alheri added. The Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment delivered in July 2024, affirmed the financial autonomy of local governments and ruled that allocations from the Federation Account should be paid directly to local councils. In the unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim on behalf of a seven-member panel, the apex court held that it is unconstitutional for state governors to receive and withhold funds meant for local government areas. Despite the ruling, several states have yet to fully implement the decision, prompting President Bola Tinubu to warn at the APC National Executive Committee meeting in December that he could issue an Executive Order to enforce compliance. Responding to concerns over delays, Alheri maintained that the implementation process is progressing steadily. “In Niger State, we are receiving all the support we need from our governor, and most states under the Progressive Local Government leadership are also enjoying similar cooperation. We are working together with our governors, slowly but surely, toward complete autonomy,” he said. He added that local government chairmen are actively involved in decisions taken by their state governments and expressed confidence that full local government autonomy would eventually be achieved nationwide. Alheri also expressed optimism that more governors would embrace the policy, saying the APC remains committed to strengthening local government administration across the country.

The Presidency has directed the former Secretary of the Presidential Implementation Committee (PIC) on the Alienation of Federal Government Properties and its members to immediately stop presenting themselves as representatives of the Federal Government. It said the committee ceased to exist with effect from November 5, 2025, following President Bola Tinubu’s approval of its dissolution. In a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said all matters relating to the committee’s activities have been transferred to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN). President Tinubu also directed the committee’s former Secretary, B. S. Dutsin-Ma, to stop acting on behalf of the dissolved committee and the Federal Government on issues related to its former responsibilities. According to the statement, the dissolution takes retrospective effect from November 5, 2025, the date the President ordered the Attorney General to assume responsibility for all matters concerning the committee. The Presidency explained that the Presidential Implementation Committee was established in 2000 during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to oversee the privatisation, sale and lease of Federal Government landed assets under the government’s monetisation policy. The committee was chaired by the then Minister of Housing and included representatives from the ministries of Transportation, Justice, Health and Agriculture, as well as the Nigeria Police Force. Its pioneer secretary was Prof. P. T. Ahire, then a Deputy Director in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, while its membership comprised representatives from both the public and private sectors. The statement recalled that on March 22, 2001, the Federal Executive Council approved the establishment of a Panel of Inquiry to prepare a White Paper for implementing recommendations arising from the committee’s work. The panel spent 21 months before submitting its report. According to the Presidency, a review of the committee’s operations revealed that its activities had extended beyond its original mandate, resulting in multiple legal disputes across the country. It said the Federal Government concluded that the committee’s continued existence was no longer necessary, prompting President Tinubu to dissolve it and transfer all related responsibilities to the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation. The Presidency added that all matters relating to the alienation of Federal Government properties will henceforth be handled exclusively by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.

Former Edo State Governor and Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, has accused the Minister of Works, David Umahi, of neglecting critical federal roads in Edo and Delta states, urging the Senate to call for a more equitable distribution of road infrastructure projects across the country. Speaking during plenary, Oshiomhole expressed concern over the deteriorating condition of major highways linking Edo and Delta, despite the Federal Government’s approval of several new road projects. He questioned the decision to embark on additional road projects while many existing federal highways remain in poor condition. “The Federal Minister of Works needs to be guided. Whereas we have many existing roads that are in terrible condition, new roads are being proposed when the existing ones have not been properly addressed. Just three weeks ago, about 20 new roads were approved,” he said. The senator alleged that Edo and Delta states have suffered unfair treatment in the allocation of federal road infrastructure, pointing to the deplorable state of the Benin–Warri, Benin–Asaba, Benin–Auchi and Auchi–Okene highways. “Yet, between Edo and Delta States, there is a manifest bias in the actions of the Minister of Works. You cannot travel from Benin to Warri; you cannot travel from Benin to Asaba; you cannot travel from Benin to Auchi; and you cannot travel from Auchi to Okene without encountering serious challenges. What have we done wrong?” Oshiomhole asked. He further claimed that the minister has repeatedly failed to make budgetary provisions for the affected road corridors, adding that ongoing interventions were only made possible after President Bola Tinubu approved the use of tax credits to fund parts of the projects. “I believe the Minister has consistently demonstrated that there is no federal allocation for these critical roads. It is only through Mr. President’s goodwill that he directed the use of tax credits to address part of this section. Otherwise, in the budgets of the past three years, despite the first motion moved under your leadership to draw the Minister’s attention to the matter, the Federal Minister of Works has deliberately failed to include the portions bordering Edo and Delta States in the national budget,” he said. Oshiomhole appealed to the Senate leadership to urge the Minister of Works to adopt a more balanced and national approach to the execution of federal road projects. “Therefore, I plead with you to urge the Minister to be more balanced and to adopt a truly national outlook in carrying out his responsibilities,” he added.