The ongoing shutdown of Osun State’s local government councils has alarmed the Insight Initiative for Community and Social Development, or IICSD.
162 days after the state’s third-tier government suspended operations, the institute also bemoaned the slowdown in grassroots growth.
The organization voiced serious concerns about the protracted shutdown that started on February 17, 2025, calling it a significant setback to the state’s growth trajectory in a press statement issued on Tuesday and signed by its Executive Director, Jare Tiamiyu.
“Today marks 162 days that Osun State local government areas have been closed. According to the statement, “development at the most important level of government has been halted, depriving many residents and indigenous people of access to various critical services.”
IICSD claims that because of the political character of the situation, money intended for the local councils has been seized, disrupting vital services that have an immediate impact on the day-to-day lives of residents in Osun’s local communities.
The organization, which has led the way in promoting openness in governance through its Osun Open Local Government Program (OsunOpenLG), denounced the shutdown’s detrimental effects, especially on young people who are already facing a lack of opportunity.
It is quite concerning that the state’s future, especially that of its youth, is being jeopardized by the ongoing dysfunction of the local government system. We also take note of the political back and forth that has resulted from the crisis and the numerous fatalities that have followed the power struggle with great concern,” the statement read.
In order to break the deadlock in the best interests of the populace, IICSD urged traditional leaders, religious authorities, the state’s founding fathers, and other powerful individuals to come in and mediate.
“It is alarming that our allocations that should have been used to build more schools, repair and reconstruct our feeder roads, empower our market men and women, and pay salaries have been truncated due to the selfish reasons of some principal actors,” Tiamiyu said.
The statement emphasised the urgency of restoring functionality to the local governments, stating that the people of Osun cannot continue to be deprived of governance at the grassroots.
“We hope that men of goodwill and conscience rise up, especially among young people who are always the drivers of societal change, to further propel the developmental aspirations of our people.
“Now is the time to reopen our councils. We cannot keep destroying Osun State’s grassroots government,” IICSD declared.
Tiamiyu reaffirmed the organization’s pledge to use its daily counter to track the days of closure and promised to keep up advocacy work until local governance is reinstated throughout Osun State.
“We can’t go on like this. “The people of Osun deserve local governments that are accountable, accessible, and functional,” he said.
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