CBN In Hot Water As Osun ALGON Alleges Fraudulent Release Of LG Forms

The Osun State chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) has alleged that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released Local Government account forms to members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), whom it described as impostors.

While addressing journalists in Osogbo on Tuesday, the Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in Osun State, Sarafadeen Awotunde, accused the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Osun regional office of issuing Local Government account forms to All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmen—despite a court ruling that had previously removed them from office.

Awotunde stated that upon receiving reports that the APC officials had accessed the forms, he and his team visited the CBN office in Osogbo on Monday to clarify the situation. Their aim, he said, was to urge the CBN Controller to recognise only the duly elected Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) council chairmen as legitimate signatories.

“We went to the CBN around 3 p.m. on Monday after learning that some dismissed APC impostors had gone there to collect LG account forms. We met a staff member who assured us that our concerns would be conveyed to the Controller-General because we are confident the CG knows who the legally-backed council chairmen are,” he said.

According to Awotunde, they were asked to return to the CBN office at 8 a.m. the next day for further engagement. However, upon their arrival around 7:45 a.m., they were informed the Controller was already inside her office—having reportedly entered through a back entrance—and refused to attend to them.

He further alleged that a private security guard at the CBN trampled on their court documents and that security personnel barricaded the building’s entrance, forcing them to vacate the premises.

“What’s going on in Osun is a complete violation of the law,” Awotunde stated. “The CBN is tarnishing its image with this matter. If the Osun Controller cannot carry out her duties impartially, she should be transferred.”

He called on President Bola Tinubu, the Accountant-General of the Federation, and the Federal Ministry of Finance to intervene in what he described as efforts to instigate “artificial anarchy” in the state.

“We are peace-loving people, but we will no longer tolerate this. The CBN must not allow itself to be used to subvert justice,” he added.