Government sources who spoke with Sahara Reporters described the planned engagement as an effort to seek a political resolution to the impasse.

According to sources familiar with the development, attention has shifted to the proposed meeting between Adeleke and Tinubu.

One of the sources said, “The meeting is currently being scheduled, although there have been efforts by some individuals within the All Progressives Congress in Osun to prevent it from taking place.

“However, the President has given the meeting the green light. The objective is to find a political solution to the impasse over the local government issues. The meeting could hold at any moment.”

The dispute centres on the control and disbursement of local government allocations, which have become the subject of court actions and political controversy in the state.

The development comes amid reports that the Chairman of United Bank for Africa, Tony Elumelu, recently met with President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa over the handling of Osun’s local government funds domiciled with the bank.

While the official agenda of the meeting was not disclosed, insider accounts indicated that discussions focused on the status and management of the funds.

One source said the meeting followed “various reports of mismanagement of the said fund, as well as court actions restraining the bank from further accessing or disbursing the funds until the matter before the court is resolved.”

Another source close to the Presidency said Elumelu was summoned to address allegations of unauthorised disbursement.

Among the concerns reportedly raised were claims that UBA may have breached local government financial regulations, leading to the criminal prosecution of some bank officials.

Sources also indicated that the Presidency expressed concern over any access to or movement of the funds while court proceedings are ongoing.

Tinubu was said to have informed Elumelu that there is a standing directive preventing either of the two feuding parties in Osun State from accessing the funds until pending legal matters are resolved.

The meeting reportedly examined the role of former Osun State governor, Gboyega Oyetola, in the management of the funds, after Elumelu was said to have cited external pressure as a factor in partial disbursement.

Sources added that the UBA chairman sought clarification from the Presidency on the appropriate course of action regarding the funds.

Earlier, a Magistrate Court sitting in Osogbo barred UBA from releasing or handling local government funds for individuals claiming to be council chairmen in Osun State and identifying as members of the APC.

In his ruling, Magistrate Adekanmi Adeyeba restrained the bank from “conducting any business transactions with individuals parading themselves as chairmen of local government councils in the state,” pending the conclusion of criminal proceedings involving the bank’s top officials.

He held that “in the interest of the public and to prevent further abuse of public funds,” UBA must refrain from recognising “any individual or group of individuals for the purpose of opening, maintaining, or operating bank accounts on behalf of any local government council in Osun State.”

The court also reaffirmed a subsisting bench warrant earlier issued against senior UBA officials and directed that criminal proceedings should continue pending final determination of the matter.