The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the Federal Government of using the freezing of statutory allocations to Osun State local governments as a political tool ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The opposition party described the action as “political terrorism”, saying it was ordinary residents, not politicians, who were paying the price.
In a statement on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC alleged that withholding the funds was part of a broader effort to weaken the Osun State Government before the election.
The party said the dispute had gone beyond politics, arguing that money meant for workers’ salaries, primary healthcare, schools and other essential grassroots services remained inaccessible because of the standoff.
According to the ADC, federal authorities have also allowed unelected APC loyalists to continue occupying local government councils in the state, while allegedly targeting opposition politicians through arrests and other actions aimed at destabilising the state.
“Political opponents are not enemy combatants. Opposition-controlled states are not occupied territories. Public institutions do not belong to whichever party temporarily controls the Federal Government,” Abdullahi said.
The party argued that withholding local government allocations amounted to using public welfare as a bargaining chip in a political contest, warning that essential services were being sacrificed for partisan interests.
The statement added that the Tinubu administration was prepared to “starve the people of Osun State” to achieve its political objectives.
The ADC further accused President Bola Tinubu of treating elections as warfare instead of democratic competition.
“We have noted earlier that President Bola Tinubu’s mentality, which regards political contests as warfare, constitutes a serious threat to democratic engagement. But even in war, there are rules of engagement that recognise human dignity and place limits on the conduct of adversaries,” Abdullahi said.
The party also alleged that unelected APC loyalists had continued to occupy local government councils in Osun for more than a year without democratic legitimacy, accusing federal institutions of failing to uphold the constitution.
It further claimed that members and candidates of the Accord Party had been subjected to politically motivated arrests, while alleging that armed hoodlums linked to the APC had intimidated communities across the state with military-grade weapons as security agencies looked the other way.
The ADC also accused some police personnel of protecting armed groups involved in political intimidation, warning that such actions, if proven, would undermine public confidence in the neutrality of security agencies.
According to the party, the developments point to “the deliberate promotion of a state of anarchy” by federal institutions that should be protecting law, order and democracy.
The ADC called for the immediate release of all statutory allocations due to Osun’s local governments, an end to what it described as federal intimidation of the state government, and the restoration of constitutional order.
It insisted that the people of Osun must be allowed to freely choose their leaders in the forthcoming governorship election.
