The Edo State Government has dismissed as false all claims that the monthly subvention statutorily due to the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II and other traditional rulers in the State has been reduced by the administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki.
A statement signed by the Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, notes that the subvention to the Monarch has increased since Governor Godwin Obaseki came into office because Value Added Tax, VAT and Excess Crude components have been included and not been reduced, as is being falsely peddled by what it describes as mischief makers.
The Commissioner says the Oba of Benin’s position as permanent head of all traditional rulers in Edo State remains sacrosanct in the State Government’s implementation of the Traditional Rulers and Chiefs Edict of 1979, especially as relates to Section 45 of the Edict.
He explains that recently, in the wake of some disagreement among some traditional rulers in the State, they agreed with the State Government to temporarily warehouse the fund in a central pool until the administrative issues were addressed. This was between April 2023 and July 2023.
Against the false information that the fund was withheld from July 2022 to July 2023, all statutory payments were paid until April 2023, when it was agreed for the funds to be warehoused till the date for the resolution of outstanding issues.
Chris Nehikhare reveals that the administrative issues have now been resolved by the Edo State Government and the Palace delegation led by the Iyase of Benin, Sam Igbe, and this pool of funds is being disbursed to the various traditional rulers across the State as well as the Benin Traditional Council.
The total amount now being disbursed to all the traditional rulers in the State is over N1.3 billion (N1,316, 746, 764.13k).
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Of this amount N639,269,245.26, goes to the traditional rulers in Edo South Senatorial District while the Benin Traditional Council, BTC, gets N319,634,622.63 and the balance of N255,707,698 is distributed to the traditional councils in the seven local governments in the senatorial district with N63,926,924.52 reserved for any emergency in the councils. In the same vein, Edo North traditional rulers get N377,642,592.6k while Edo Central traditional rulers receive N299,834,926.27k.
Nehikhare describes as shocking, attempts by mischief makers to stir a phantom crisis between Edo State Government and the Palace of the revered monarch, with many of them making completely false statements and spreading misinformation on social media.
The Commissioner calls on Edo State people to be wary of misinformation and know that everything is being done according to the law and the accounts of the traditional rulers are being credited.
He assures that Government will continue to work towards harmonious living in the state, ensuring that key players are carried along in its development strides.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
