The Secretary of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in Ibadan South-West LGA of Oyo State, Hon. SA Akeem Olanrewaju Lawal, has accused the council chairman, Hon. Kehinde Adeyemi Akande, of withholding his salary over his alleged loyalty to the party’s National Leader, Alhaji Adebisi Aremu Olopoeyan.
Lawal, in a statement issued on Wednesday, alleged that his salary for August 2026 had not been paid into his account following what he described as an “embargo” allegedly imposed on his wages by the council chairman.
He claimed that the action was politically motivated and had nothing to do with any offence or misconduct on his part.
According to him, the alleged sanction followed his refusal to align with the faction of the APM associated with the chairman.
Lawal said: “The Executive Chairman of Ibadan South-West Local Government Council has put an embargo on my salary starting from August 2026 without any genuine reason or without my committing any offence or crime in the local government.”
He further alleged that the chairman cited three reasons for the action: his loyalty to Olopoeyan, his refusal to belong to the chairman’s “Alliance Group” in the local government and the decision of some APM candidates to institute legal proceedings over alleged plans for fresh local government primaries.
Lawal, however, argued that the court case should not be used as a basis for withholding his salary, stressing that neither the Ibadan South-West chairman nor the other council chairmen were personally sued in the matter.
He said the legal action was instituted by 33 APM chairmanship candidates and 351 councillorship candidates across the state against the Oyo State chapter of the party over alleged plans for fresh local government primaries.
He queried why the dispute should have any bearing on his employment or remuneration at the local government level.
The APM secretary also alleged that he was excluded from the council’s 2026 Summer Coaching programme because of the political crisis within the party.
He recalled that he had participated actively in the programme in previous years and was recognised as the Best Acting Principal during the 2024 and 2025 editions of the summer coaching programme organised for junior and senior secondary school students across the 12 wards of the local government.
Lawal said his record of service, particularly in the education sector, should have insulated him from what he described as politically motivated victimisation.
He appealed to members of the public and relevant stakeholders to take note of his complaint, adding that he intended to bring the matter before journalists, human rights activists, student leaders and other relevant bodies.
He described himself as a law-abiding graduate and grassroots politician and said he would continue to pursue the matter through lawful means.
As of the time of filing this report, the council chairman had not publicly responded to the allegations.
The claims by Lawal could not be independently verified, while it remained unclear whether the withholding of his August salary was formally authorised and, if so, on what administrative grounds.