Reinstated All Progressives Congress (APC) local government chairmen have promised to reinstate over 1,500 sacked workers and clear outstanding salary arrears owed to traditional rulers following the release of withheld council allocations by the federal government.
The allocations, withheld since February 2025 due to a leadership tussle between the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) factions, were finally released in September into the council accounts operated by the APC chairmen.
Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in the APC faction, Abiodun Idowu, reaffirmed the commitment of the chairmen to grassroots governance, insisting that the APC-led executives remain the authentic administrators of the 30 local governments and the area office in the state.
He stressed that their mandate, freely given by the people in October 2022, was only interrupted by Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration before being restored by the Court of Appeal on February 10, 2025.
He vowed, “Plans are ongoing to recall and re-engage the 1,500 teachers employed by the last APC government of former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola but sacked by the present administration. We will also recall the dismissed health workers, O’YES cadets, and O’Meal vendors. Beyond recalling them, we will offset part of their salaries and emoluments. This is a policy statement, not politics.”
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Also, he assured that traditional rulers in the state would also benefit, as arrangements have been concluded to clear arrears owed to them by the state government.
However, Idowu accused the Adeleke administration of using the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) and other groups to frustrate the release of federal allocations meant for local governments, which he said would have eased financial pressures on traditional rulers, teachers, and health workers.
He berated the claim that the APC-led council executives are plotting to siphon the local government allocation by illegally instructing commercial banks to deduct 15 percent of local government allocations as legal fees.