The Osun State Council of Obas, led by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene in resolving the lingering crisis stalling the release of allocations meant for Local Government Areas in the state.
Since February 2025, the 30 LGAs and the Modakeke Area Office have been denied access to their monthly allocation following a violent clash between members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) over control of the councils.
The APC leadership had claimed that a February 10 Court of Appeal judgment in Akure restored the chairmen and councillors elected in the October 2022 local government polls, who were earlier sacked by a Federal High Court in Osogbo.
However, the PDP rejected the claim, insisting that its officials elected in February 2025 should be in charge of the councils.
In a statement signed by Oba Ogunwusi and obtained in Osogbo on Tuesday, the monarchs lamented that the non-release of funds had crippled local governance and negatively affected communities.
“As apolitical fathers of the land, we are not concerned about the politics or individual differences fueling this crisis. Our concern is for a functional society and effective traditional institutions that serve the people, especially the vulnerable,” the statement read in part.
The Council stressed that traditional institutions across Nigeria rely heavily on the five percent statutory deduction from local government allocations.
Without this, the monarchs warned, their ability to cater for their people becomes almost impossible.
They further noted that secretariats have been inactive for months, while community roads, markets, and other responsibilities of the councils are deteriorating.
“We call on Mr. President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to act as a father to the nation by ending this impasse. Our communities, especially rural dwellers, are suffering from the total shutdown of local government activities,” the monarchs appealed.
The royal fathers expressed optimism that Tinubu’s intervention would restore stability, strengthen traditional institutions, and improve the lives of Osun residents.
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