The Osun State Council of Obas, led by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to wade into the lingering crisis stalling the release of statutory allocations to local governments in the state.
Since February 2025, the 30 Local Government Areas and the Modakeke Area Office have been denied access to their monthly funds following violent clashes between members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) over control of the councils.
The APC leadership in Osun had hinged its claim on a February 10, 2025 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Akure, which reinstated chairmen and councillors elected during the October 15, 2022 LG polls but earlier sacked by a Federal High Court in Osogbo in December 2022. However, the PDP insists that officials elected during the February 22, 2025 elections remain the legitimate managers of the council areas.
In a statement personally signed by Oba Ogunwusi and made available in Osogbo on Tuesday, the monarchs lamented that the continued withholding of funds has crippled governance at the grassroots and worsened hardship in communities.
“As apolitical fathers of the land, our concern is not about partisan differences but about building a functional society and a responsive traditional institution that serves everyone, especially the vulnerable,” the statement read in part.
The monarchs stressed that traditional institutions, which rely on the five percent statutory deductions from local government allocations, have also been severely affected. “Secretariats have become inactive, markets and community roads are deteriorating, and local government responsibilities have been abandoned. This neglect has direct consequences on ordinary people who are suffering daily,” they added.
Appealing directly to President Tinubu, the Obas urged him to urgently resolve the impasse. “We cannot pretend not to see the rot. We call on Mr. President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to intervene as a father of the nation. The cries of farmers, villagers, and community dwellers across Osun State must be heard. Restoring local government activities will not only benefit rural communities but also strengthen the traditional institution to continue complementing the Federal Government,” the statement concluded.
