The political heat within the Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) appears to be intensifying, as the party’s State Youth Leader, Hon. Olalekan Glory, has responded to comments attributed to Hon. Bimbo Adekanmbi over the administration and supervision of local governments in the state.
In a statement published on the Oyo State APC Youth platform, Glory defended his account of the workings of the State-Local Government Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) during the administration of the late former Governor Abiola Ajimobi, while challenging Adekanmbi to dispute his claims with facts.
Glory recalled that during Ajimobi’s tenure, JAAC meetings were, according to his recollection, held regularly, providing a forum where local government chairmen presented their plans and proposals for consideration.
He said budgets were presented and defended, issues were deliberated upon, and decisions were reached collectively, with the Commissioner for Local Government and other relevant government officials involved.
According to him, the governor also engaged with council chairmen, while the Oyo State House of Assembly provided legislative oversight.
“Supervision and accountability were built into the system,” he maintained.
Glory went further to express concern over what he described as the current state of many local governments across Oyo State. He claimed that “close to 90%” of the local governments do little beyond paying salaries, alleging that some councils are unable to carry out basic maintenance such as cutting grass within their secretariat premises.
He also pointed to videos circulating online which, he said, show some local government secretariats in poor physical condition.
However, the 90 per cent figure remains Glory’s political assertion and should not be interpreted as an independently verified statistic.
Oyo State officially has 33 Local Government Areas, alongside a number of Local Council Development Areas. The state government’s Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters says its mandate includes the effective administration and monitoring of the 33 local governments, as well as control of local government finances.
The ministry’s responsibilities therefore make the questions raised by Glory particularly relevant to the broader debate over grassroots governance, supervision and accountability in the state.
“That He Never Attended Does Not Mean They Didn’t Hold”
Addressing Adekanmbi directly, Glory said the fact that Adekanmbi personally never attended a JAAC meeting during Ajimobi’s administration should not be taken as evidence that such meetings did not occur.
“Let Bimbo Adekanmbi dispute my account of how regularly JAAC meetings were held during Ajimobi’s administration,” he stated.
“That he personally never attended one does not mean the meetings did not take place.”
Glory then turned the argument toward the present administration, asking how frequently JAAC meetings are currently being held and who reviews the plans and budgets submitted by local government chairmen.
He also questioned who is responsible for monitoring the performance of the councils and demanding accountability from their leadership.
The debate comes against the background of continuing discussions about the effectiveness of local government administration in Oyo State. In May 2024, Governor Seyi Makinde inaugurated 33 elected local government chairmen and vice-chairmen, stressing the constitutional importance of local government administration as a catalyst for sustainable grassroots development.
More recently, the Oyo State Local Government Service Commission conducted a comprehensive staff audit and verification exercise across the state’s 33 local government areas, describing the exercise as an effort to ensure proper documentation, professionalism and efficiency in local government service delivery.
Autonomy Is Not the Issue, Says Glory
Glory clarified that his argument should not be confused with the separate national debate over local government autonomy.
“Local government autonomy is a separate matter,” he said, insisting that his concern is about supervision, accountability and effective administration at the grassroots.
He challenged Adekanmbi to explain what decisions are currently being taken through JAAC and, more importantly, how those decisions are translating into tangible development across Oyo State’s 33 local governments.
The exchange adds another layer to the growing political conversation within Oyo APC ahead of the 2027 elections, with the party’s youth leadership increasingly engaging in grassroots mobilisation and political discussions across the state. Recent activities by the Oyo APC Youth leadership have included engagements with local government youth structures and town-hall programmes across different geopolitical zones.
For now, Glory’s message is clear: the argument is not simply about whether JAAC meetings existed in the past, but whether the system of supervision and accountability is producing measurable results for residents today.
The question he has placed before Adekanmbi—and, by extension, the wider political establishment—is straightforward: Who is monitoring the councils, what decisions are being made, and where are the results?
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