Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has strongly denied allegations by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that he bribed leaders of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) to sustain their ongoing strike.
In a statement issued on Sunday by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, Governor Adeleke described the opposition’s claims as false, baseless, and dangerous to democracy and the judiciary.
According to the statement, the governor accused the APC of fabricating lies to undermine the rule of law and discredit the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) administration.
“The level of impunity on display by the state APC constitutes a serious threat to our democratic life. The party started by falsifying a Court of Appeal judgment to claim a fake reinstatement of its court-sacked chairmen,” Adeleke said.
He further stated that the APC had ignored a valid judgment affirming the legality of PDP chairmen and councillors across local governments, accusing the opposition of invading council secretariats “like political robbers” and attempting to claim public funds illegally.
Adeleke noted that the judiciary had intervened to clarify matters, but the APC’s continued disregard for court processes had become alarming. He urged residents to disregard what he called a “new bag of lies”, adding that NULGE was an independent body that required no inducement to act responsibly.
“The fight to stop the attempted looting of local government treasuries is a collective effort. The opposition has come to the end of its game. The people have resisted illegality, and the judiciary will soon make its final pronouncement,” the statement concluded.
However, in a counterclaim, the Osun APC through its Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, alleged that Governor Adeleke had financially induced striking NULGE officials to sustain their work boycott.
Olabisi claimed that a viral video by a senior NULGE member revealed that each Head of Local Government Administration in the 69 local councils and LCDAs received ₦750,000, Directors of Administration and Finance got ₦500,000, while other Directors and NULGE chairmen allegedly received ₦250,000 each.
“It is strange that a government could go so low as to promote and fund an illegal work abandonment against itself,” Olabisi said, blaming Adeleke’s administration for delays in local government fund disbursements and widespread hardship at the grassroots.
He added that the APC remains confident of returning to power in 2026, pledging to “restore the lost glory” of the state.
