The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Osun State chapter, has cautioned Governor Ademola Adeleke against “illegal interference” in the management of public motor parks, warning that his executive directives undermine the rule of law amid an escalating factional crisis within the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).
The constitutional standoff intensified on Friday, July 24, 2026, following Governor Adeleke’s directive to security agencies to immediately halt all NURTW operations across the state and arrest anyone parading themselves as union executives.
Speaking through the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, the governor announced the state-wide ban following an emergency State Security Council meeting in Osogbo.
In a swift counter-statement, Osun ALGON challenged the governor’s order, describing it as unconstitutional, null, and void. The local government body argued that under Paragraph 1(e) of the Fourth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), the authority to establish, regulate, and control public motor parks rests exclusively with local government councils, not the state executive.
”The governor lacks the statutory power to suspend transport union operations or seize control of motor parks,” ALGON stated. “We urge security agencies to remain strictly within the bounds of the law and respect the constitutional powers guaranteed to local governments.”
Started on Monday, July 20, when Violence erupted in major transport hubs across Osogbo, Ilesa, and Ile-Ife as rival factions clash over the union’s leadership. On Tuesday, July 21, Osun ALGON intervenes, ordering security agencies to secure the parks and appointing Caretaker Management Committees across local branches to maintain order and revenue collection.
Governor Adeleke chairs a State Security Council meeting on Thursday, with heads of the Nigerian Police, DSS, Military, and Civil Defence, subsequently issuing a state-wide ban on all NURTW park operations and forming a joint Rapid Response Squad to enforce the order.
ALGON publicly rejects the governor’s ban on Friday 24 , while the state government issues a clarification reiterating that Comrade Nurudeen Alowonle remains the union’s recognized chairman, insisting the ban is a temporary security measure to stop illegal levy collections by rival factions.
ALGON has called on security forces operating within Osun State to maintain neutrality and refrain from enforcing directives that violate constitutional provisions governing local administration.
