Tension heightened in Osun State on Tuesday as opposing leaders of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) issued conflicting statements over the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) decision to end an 11-month strike and resume work in January 2026.
In a statement on Tuesday, ALGON chairman aligned with the All Progressives Congress (APC), Samuel Idowu Abiodun, alerted security agencies to possible breaches of peace across the 30 local government areas and the Ife-East Area Office in Modakeke.
Abiodun said security agencies should “hold Comrade Kehinde Nathaniel Ogungbangbe responsible should there be any breakdown of law and order following NULGE’s announcement that workers would resume duties on January 5, 2026.”
DAILY POST had reported that local government employees had withdrawn services since February 2025, following disputes over the resumption of office by APC-elected council officials reinstated by court orders, leaving council secretariats largely inactive.
Ogungbangbe, President of the Osun State chapter of NULGE, announced on Monday, December 29, that workers would return to work on Monday, January 5, 2026, and called on security agencies to provide protection during the resumption.
Reacting, Abiodun said the resumption notice was “a guise to cause chaos. The APC-elected chairmen and councillors remain the constitutionally recognized occupants of the councils pending final court determination.
“We have been patient and law-abiding since February, but the latest statement from Ogungbangbe shows an intention to subject the state to unrest.
“For the avoidance of doubt, our occupation of council secretariats is legal, constitutional, and legitimate until the courts finally determine our tenure.”
However, a rival statement issued the same day by Sarafadeen Abiodun Awotunde, Executive Chairman of Ifelodun Local Government and ALGON, rejected Abiodun’s claims and described his leadership as self-acclaimed.
Awotunde said the directive by NULGE for workers to resume was lawful and constitutional, insisting that local government employees had the right to access their workplaces without obstruction.
“Local government workers are the legitimate landlords in their councils, while the APC chairmen are illegal tenants. The dispute before the courts did not involve civil servants.”
He maintained that the tenure of the APC chairmen and councillors had elapsed on October 22, citing references made during Supreme Court proceedings.
Awotunde also said the Court of Appeal judgment of June 13, 2025, remained valid and enforceable, warning that continued occupation of council offices could amount to contempt of court.
“Should there be any breakdown of law and order anywhere in the state, Mr. Abiodun Idowu and his associates should be held responsible. We urge security agencies to ensure a peaceful resumption of work,” he demanded.
Meanwhile, the Osun State chapter of the APC, in a statement by Kola Olabisi, its Director of Media and Information, accused the Osun NULGE leadership of overstepping its authority by attempting to dictate conditions for the resumption of work after an 11-month strike.
The APC alleged that NULGE, under its chairman, Dr. Kehinde Nathaniel Ogungbangbe, had become “needlessly involved in partisan politics and was acting as an extension of Governor Ademola Adeleke’s political camp.”
The party described NULGE’s announcement of a January resumption as welcome but said the conditions attached were illegal and contemptuous.
The party insisted that employees could not determine which council executives they would work with.
“It is strange and preposterous for employees to be dictating rules of engagement for their employers. The tenure of the APC-reinstated chairmen and councillors remains before the Federal High Court in Osogbo and could not be decided by the union,” it added.
The APC warned that any attempt to enforce the resumption with conditions could threaten public peace and urged the Police, the Department of State Services, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to remain alert.
“Should there be any breakdown of law and order in the councils, Ogungbangbe should be expressly held responsible. Security agencies should protect workers who wish to resume without being tied to any obnoxious and illegal conditionalities,” the statement added.
Osun: Tensions rise as opposing ALGON leaders clash over NULGE
Osun: Tensions rise as opposing ALGON leaders clash over NULGE
