Osun APC Fires Back at Assembly Over Monarchs’ Backlog Salaries

 

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has hit back at the State House of Assembly over objections to the payment of long-overdue salaries to traditional rulers.

In a statement on Friday, Kola Olabisi, APC’s Director of Media and Information, said the decision by reinstated local government chairmen to clear the salary arrears was purely legal and aimed at safeguarding the welfare of monarchs, dismissing claims of political motives.

The statement was in response to remarks by Speaker Adewale Egbedun, who questioned why the council chairmen prioritised settling salaries accumulated over an 11-month disruption caused by a faction of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) and prolonged by court injunctions.

“The Assembly’s leadership has displayed hostility towards monarchs through misplaced priorities and public criticism of legitimate payments,” the APC said.

Samuel Abiodun Idowu, chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), aligned with the APC, defended the payments, stressing that traditional rulers, as custodians of culture, should not face hardship or victimisation.

Idowu pointed to the Supreme Court ruling of July 11, 2024, affirming local government autonomy, and a Court of Appeal decision of February 10, 2025, which reinstated the APC chairmen, saying the rulings remain binding.

“The reinstated chairmen owe no apology for paying what is lawfully due,” he said.

The APC also recalled past tensions between the state government and monarchs, including a controversy involving the Speaker and the Alasi of Asi, Oba Oyewale Olasunkanmi Isaac, which became public through a leaked audio recording.

The party concluded that the payment of monarchs’ entitlements was a legal duty and a measure to ensure traditional rulers are treated with dignity.