Ekiti Government Faults Monarch’s Exclusion of Chiefs from Monthly Payroll

Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti

The Ekiti State Government, has directed the Olorin of Orin-Odo, Ikole Local Government Area, Oba Adebisi Ogunjobi, to commence the payment of monthly stipends to some aggrieved chiefs in his community.

This move was to restore unity being threatened by persistent feud among traditional leaders in the area.

Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye, gave the order, on Tuesday, while mediating in a disagreement between some Chiefs and Oba Ogunjobi over alleged exclusion from the government’s monthly payroll.

This intervention stemmed from several petitions written by these aggrieved Chiefs over alleged refusal of Oba Ogunjobi to pay their monthly stipends, since February 28, 2018.

Addressing the parties, Mrs. Afuye, in a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Victor Ogunje, directed the monarch to pay the aggrieved Chiefs from January, 2025, while part of the outstanding arrears should be defrayed to pacify the affected chiefs.

In resolving the matter, Mrs Afuye was explicit that  the stipends for the traditional chiefs couldn’t be diverted for development purpose, without the consent of the beneficiaries, describing this as a clear negation of the government’s financial statute.

She, however, faulted the traditional chiefs for refusing to cooperate with the monarch to lift the town forward, saying their abstention from traditional meetings was creating a wedge in the wheel of progress. 

“I appeal to Kabiyesi to start paying their stipends from this month  and part of the outstanding ones should be paid accordingly using internal mechanism. But for you to be paid, go and cooperate with the traditional ruler for the purpose of development and peaceful coexistence,” he said.