Restore LG funds to save our communities – Osun monarchs urge Tinubu
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –
Traditional rulers across Osun State, under the aegis of the Osun Council of Obas, have expressed deep concern over the withholding of Local Government allocations, warning that grassroots governance in the state has been crippled.
Meeting at the Ile Oodua Palace in Ile-Ife under the chairmanship of the Ooni of Ife, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, the monarchs appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently intervene in the crisis, stressing that rural dwellers and the traditional institution have been the worst affected.
“It amazes us daily to see secretariats suddenly become inactive because the allocations meant for their smooth running have been withheld for several months, over issues that have nothing to do with the common people currently suffering the brunt,” they said. “Our markets, community roads and other responsibilities of the Local Government are suffering badly and we, as traditional rulers, cannot afford to pretend like we do not see these rots.”
The rulers emphasized that as natural leaders closest to the grassroots, they are critical stakeholders in community development but have been weakened by the paralysis of local government administration.
They stressed that as apolitical fathers of the land, they are not interested in the politics or disputes that may have led to the seizure of the funds, but only want to see a functional local government system that benefits especially vulnerable people in their communities.
“It is an open secret that the traditional institution across the country is being sustained through the five percent deductions from the Local Government allocation, and when this is not available, it becomes almost impossible for us to serve our people adequately,” the monarchs added.
They appealed to President Tinubu to resolve the matter, noting that restoring the funds would greatly benefit Osun’s rural communities and reenergize the traditional institution to complement the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The monarchs expressed confidence in President Tinubu’s ability to resolve the issue, urging him to hear the cries of farmers and villagers who have been suffering from the total deactivation of local government activities for several months.
