Osun Monarch Appeals to Adeleke Over Seven Months’ Unpaid Salaries, Says 457 Traditional Leaders Affected

The Oloyan of Oyan in Osun State, Oba Adekeye Oluyeye, has appealed to Governor Ademola Adeleke over the alleged non-payment of salaries and entitlements to 17 traditional rulers and 440 chiefs in Odo-Otin Local Government Area for seven months.

The monarch made the appeal in a video circulating on social media on Wednesday, November 11, lamenting that the affected traditional leaders were struggling financially amid the rising cost of living.

He called on members of the public to convey his complaint to the governor, insisting that the traditional rulers and chiefs had been left without their expected payments for seven consecutive months.

According to him, Odo-Otin has 17 traditional rulers and 440 chiefs who have yet to receive their entitlements during the period.

The monarch expressed frustration over the situation, saying the financial difficulties had affected their ability to meet their personal and family responsibilities.

He also absolved President Bola Tinubu of responsibility for the situation, maintaining that the Federal Government had done what was expected regarding local government autonomy.

Oba Oluyeye consequently directed his appeal to Adeleke, urging the governor to intervene and ensure that the outstanding payments were released.

The complaint comes amid a prolonged dispute over the control of local government councils and the release of statutory allocations in Osun State.

The disagreement followed a series of legal battles involving the state government and local government officials elected under the previous administration of former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.

The crisis has affected the administration and financing of local government areas, with the Federal Government withholding statutory allocations amid the disagreement over the legitimate council leadership.

In December 2025, the Supreme Court struck out a suit instituted by the Osun State Government over the withheld allocations, ruling that the state Attorney-General lacked the legal authority to institute the action on behalf of the local governments.

However, the apex court faulted the Federal Government’s withholding of the funds, describing the action as unconstitutional and advising that the allocations should be paid directly into the local government accounts.

The Osun State Government subsequently acknowledged that the funding dispute had affected certain allowances and supplementary entitlements ordinarily financed through local government allocations.

In February 2026, the state’s Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, said the administration had continued paying core salaries of local government workers through state resources despite the withholding of approximately N230 billion in allocations.

He, however, admitted that the situation had affected other financial obligations tied to local government revenues.

The latest complaint by the Oloyan of Oyan has brought renewed attention to the impact of the funding dispute on traditional institutions, with the monarch insisting that the affected rulers and chiefs need urgent intervention from the state government.