The Olowu of Owu-Kuta in Osun, Adekunle Makama, says traditional rulers earn below N25,000 monthly, accusing President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime of not taking care of them.

The monarch stated this while fielding questions from journalists on Sunday.

He also complained that the federal government failed to assign constitutional roles to the country’s traditional rulers despite their critical roles in society.

Speaking on the issue of insecurity, Mr Makama urged the federal government to ensure the survival of local governments and the traditional institution to detect and curb crimes at the grassroots.

The monarch stated, “If local governments are well-organised and allowed to survive, the security challenges will be solved to a large extent.

“As traditional rulers, we don’t have constitutional roles, even though we are principal stakeholders. Since the advent of democracy, no administration has ever remembered traditional rulers.”

Speaking specifically about the traditional rulers’ welfare, he noted, “For the security situation to improve, lots of variables need to change. Traditional rulers are not well taken care of. Some cannot even afford to change clothes in a month because they earn less than N25,000.

“As stakeholders in the security architecture, we, traditional rulers, need to be catered for, while our roles should also be fashioned into the constitution.”

(NAN)