In recognition of traditional rulers, Governor Ademola Adeleke has unveiled an integrated support package for Osun State Council of Obas as a pillar of peoples’ government.

At the second strategic consultative meeting with the state royal fathers, Governor Adeleke listened attentively to the suggestions and submissions of the royal fathers under the leadership of His Royal Majesty, Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi before opening up on his plan for the state’s Council of Obas.

Governor Adeleke who reminded the Council of inherited challenges faced by his administration, said his team prioritized royal institutions first because he grew up within a palace environment and because service delivery is best facilitated by royal fathers.

“Our Obas live and dine with the people. They are the custodian of our culture with deep affinity with the people. In Africa, productive collaboration with traditional rulers is therefore the foundation of successful governance”, the Governor posited.

Governor Adeleke disclosed that despite the harsh state of finance, his administration has crafted a support package for the traditional rulers which are already under implementation.

He speaks on the package as follows: “Our administration will continue to support our Kings for the successful hosting of their town days. We will work on a public- private partnership for town development through town day celebration.

“Medical support for our fathers will also be expanded. We will look into the possibility of health insurance enrollment as we did for pensioners in the state.

“We have already increased the sitting allowances of our Kabiyesi. This has taken effect statewide.

“We are addressing the issue of new cars for our Kabiyesi with all sense of seriousness. Gradually, we will be satisfying this genuine aspiration of our fathers in this respect.

“It is however my singular honour to announce that within the first tenure of our administration, we will build a befitting Council of Obas Secretariat in the state. This will be fully equipped to fully recognise our fathers as a pillar of people’s government.

Going forward, I am using this opportunity to inform our royal fathers that Ipade Imole holds on a quarterly basis. I seek your regular attendance as a Council.

The Governor who also addressed issues raised by the royal fathers, promised to tackle controversies over elevation of Ibas, review of Obaship laws, release of white papers on some kingship stools and the role of royal fathers in state governance.

“I will direct relevant commissioners to take up all issues raised at this meeting. I also urged our fathers to submit position papers on all issues raised here”, the governor submitted.

The Governor who received applause from Council members said he was elated that “our fathers here have severally testified to our service delivery in road construction, school rehabilitation, water provisions, health care access, workers and pensioners welfare.

“We crowned our one year super delivery with the unveiling of the multi-billion naira infra agenda designed to prepare Osun as an investment and global tourism destination. I am happy to report that implementation of the plan has commenced statewide.

“My highly revered royal fathers, we have been managing state finance with a high level of prudence and self sacrifice. My security vote is going for state development. As we are tightening our belts, we are spending on infrastructure and human support.

“We are tapping into new sources of revenue. The reform of the solid mineral sector is ongoing. The goal is to ensure maximum benefit for the state from her natural resources. We are working to improve internally generated revenue without imposing an excessive tax burden on our people.

“We cultivated a culture of saving for project execution. Unlike practice in the past, federal interventions under our watch are judiciously administered. In recent months following the economic crisis triggered at the national level, we implemented palliative administration in transparent and accountable manners. We did not hoard palliative materials. We rather allowed the public through various associations to handle the distribution.

“In a demonstration of responsible leadership, we created a project account to keep the N7 billion naira federal intervention fund. As the state is spending multi-billion naira on infra agenda, the N7 billion is an addition to contribute to the bridging of the state infra deficit.

“Our governance ambition is multi-dimensional. Your government is pushing to achieve a decade old ambition within four years. My friends tell me my plans are too ambitious but I respond to them that we are too late to allow the sky to be our limit.

The Osun agro-sector must develop. We must grow our creative industry with the full involvement of our traditional rulers. We are matching with God towards that goal.

Responding, the Chairman of the Osun State Council of Obas, His Royal Majesty, Oba Ogunwusi commended the Governor for his good governance records and delivery of service to the people.

“We appreciate Mr. Governor for his partnership with the Council. We offer open hands and we are glad that the Governor has wholeheartedly embraced our hands of fellowship. We pledge full support for the success of Mr. Governor”, the royal father noted.

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