Group gives FG 3-day ultimatum to release withheld Osun LG funds

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –

The Coalition of Concerned Nigerian Citizens (CCNC), a civil society group, has given the federal government a three-day ultimatum to release the withheld local government funds belonging to Osun State, warning that failure to do so will spark mass action across the state and beyond.

Addressing journalists at the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Osogbo, CCNC spokesperson, Comrade Raufu Sodiq, said the prolonged seizure of the funds, now approaching one year, has pushed Osun into a dangerous socioeconomic crisis affecting virtually all sectors.

Sodiq urged the federal government to prioritise citizens’ welfare by releasing the funds to avert further hardship and cautioned against politicising the matter.

He warned that if the federal government fails to resolve the issue within three days, the civil society coalition will adopt more drastic measures, including confrontation, to seek justice nationwide.

According to the group, businesses that depend on local government activities have nearly collapsed, with traders, artisans and service providers suffering low patronage, mounting debts and difficulty meeting basic financial obligations.

The CCNC also expressed deep concern over the School of Special Needs, which relies heavily on local government funding, noting that students with disabilities are facing malnutrition, poor boarding conditions and worsening welfare.

Sodiq said the coalition will always stand for justice and resist being used as tools by any government, stressing that all they seek is good governance, effective security and better employment opportunities for citizens.

“We want to say with all sense of responsibility that if the federal government administration led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu does not do the needful, we will have no choice but to use the last ‘C’ of activism, which is confrontation, to seek justice. We do not want Osun local government funds politicised any further,” he added.