Osun Assembly warns banks against unauthorized LG transactions
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –
The Osun State House of Assembly has formally warned commercial banks in the state, particularly the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Osogbo branch, not to honour any verbal, written, or electronic instruction authorising the disbursement, deduction, or diversion of public funds from Local Government accounts unless such orders emanate from legally authorised signatories and are backed by express budgetary approval.
The Assembly cautioned that any bank found processing illegal transactions would face the full constitutional and legal consequences, including summons before the House, arrest warrants, blacklisting, and referrals to anti-corruption agencies for investigation and prosecution.
This warning was contained in a letter personally signed by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Adewale Egbedun, who stressed that the legislature would not tolerate financial institutions aiding or abetting financial misconduct in contravention of constitutional provisions and extant financial laws.
The House expressed concern over reports of unauthorised financial directives in some Local Governments, including Boluwaduro Local Government, where instructions were allegedly issued to deduct 15 percent of September 2025 allocations in favour of private individuals.
The Speaker described such acts as illegal, unconstitutional, and without any budgetary approval in the 2025 approved budget of the Local Governments, emphasizing that Treasurers are not legally recognised signatories to Local Government accounts under extant laws.
Egbedun reaffirmed that only the Local Government Chairman and the Director of Administration and General Services, both officers of the Local Government Service Commission, are duly empowered to operate such accounts in line with the Osun State Guidelines on Local Government Administration and the Public Financial Management Law, 2020.
He further warned that any financial institution processing unauthorised instructions would be deemed complicit in financial misconduct, in violation of multiple national anti-corruption laws, including the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and would face the full wrath of the law.
The House urged all banks to treat the matter as one of grave public interest, reminding them that their response to its earlier request for disclosure of Local Government account details remains due within the stipulated 24-hour timeframe.
