The government said the money serves as arrears of the five per cent of the local government allocations due to the traditional rulers, which was warehoused by the government when there was crisis within the council.
Addressing a joint press conference in Benin on Tuesday, the duo of Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Chris Osa Nehikhare, and his counterpart in the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Monday Osaigbovo, said that the disbursement of the funds had since commenced.
Nehikhare said that prior to the coming of the Governor Godwin Obaseki administration, what was being released to the traditional council as its statutory five per cent allocation, was the amount due from the basic allocation to the 18 local government areas in the state, excluding other components such as the Value Added Tax (VAT) and the Excess Crude earnings.
He further explained that the arrears of the VAT and excess crude earnings from July 2022, and the amount due which the council agreed that government should warehouse when a misunderstanding arose in April 2023, were added together to arrive at the over N1.3 billion being shared to the traditional rulers.
He said their was no time the government withheld the allocation to the traditional rulers, stressing that it only wanted the issues within the council to be resolved before disbursing the funds.
According to him, out of the N1.3 billion, the Council of Traditional Rulers in the seven local governments in Edo South Senatorial Districts got the sum of N639.2 million, shared, with the Benin Traditional Council (BTC) getting N319.6 million, while the other traditional rulers in the remaining local governments got N255.7 million.
Nehikhare also said that while traditional rulers in the six local government areas of Edo north Senatorial District got the sum of N377.6 million, those from the five local governments in Edo Central Senatorial District got N299.8 million.
Nehikhare reiterated that the Omo N’Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, Oba of Benin, remained the supreme, head of all traditional rulers in Edo South.
He noted that the Iyase of Benin, Chief Sam Igbe, who is the Prime Minister of Benin kingdom was privy to the resolution of the administrative disputes that necessitated the government warehousing the funds for the traditional rulers and agreed with the Enogies on the terms of the resolution of the issues,
He also dismissed any insinuation of dispute between the council of traditional rulers and the state government.
The commissioner expressed optimism that the new arrangement would enhance a more cohesive administration at that level of government, stressing that the state government was happy to note that the various 18 LGAs in the state had commenced the disbursement of the funds.
Nehikhare disclosed that the state government would explore the possibilities of giving additional responsibilities to traditional rulers in the state especially in the security of their domains, as the security of lives and property remained the priority of the government.
Shedding more light on the five per cent allocation to the traditional rulers, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Monday Osaigbovo, said that it was the Obaseki administration that insisted that all elements that make up the allocation to the 18 LGAs must be taken into account in computing the five per cent due to the traditional rulers.
Osaigbovo added when computed as directed by Governor Obaseki, the amount due to the council of traditional rulers increased, hence the government was justified to have said that it had increased the allocation, stressing that no other state had the same sharing formular like what Edo State.
