Traditional rulers in Osun State have expressed confidence in President Bola Tinubu’s ability to resolve whatever caused the blockade of Osun State local government allocations and, therefore, called for his intervention.
The monarchs, under the aegis of the Osun Council of Obas, urged the president to, as a matter of public importance, resolve the issues obstructing the prompt payment of the allocations to Osun State, a situation they said had paralysed activities across the state.
Speaking through its permanent chairman, the Arole Oduduwa and Ooni of Ife, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, the council said the traditional institution and communities in the 30 local government areas and the area offices have been negatively impacted by the nonpayment of the funds to them as and when due.
The council explained that traditional rulers, being natural leaders and closest to the people, are critical stakeholders in nation-building, human development, and community engagement. They are structured to be empowered to perform optimally through a functioning local government administration.
The traditional rulers, who claimed to be purely apolitical fathers of the land, said they were not interested in politics, individual differences, or whatever could be responsible for the seizure of the local government allocations. They added that their interest was to see a working society and functional traditional institutions to benefit all, especially the vulnerable individuals across our communities.
“It is an open secret that the traditional institutions across the country are being upheld through the five per cent deductions from the local government allocation, and when this is not available, it will be almost impossible for us to serve our people adequately,” he said.
The monarchs lamented that markets, community roads, and other local government responsibilities suffer badly and that traditional rulers cannot afford to pretend they do not see these problems.
