Baales Allege Non-receipt of N16mn Monthly Stipends Amid Gov. Abiodun’s Timely Releases
Baales in Ogun State have voiced their grievances, over the receipt of #16m being released by His Excellency for their monthly stipends despite regular releases by Governor Abiodun.
Frustration has been mounting among these leaders as they claim that while the governor has been making timely payments, most of them are not receiving their rightful entitlements.
There are four traditional councils in the state- Egba Tradition Council, Yewa Tradition Council, Ijebu Tradition Council and Remo Traditional Council.
Narrating their ordeal, while speaking to journalists in Abeokuta, the state capital yesterday, President of The Ogun State Councils of Baales, Tunji Falola, debunked rumor that Governor Dapo Abiodun has not been paying the 1,600 registered Baales in the state as promised.
He recalled that the governor began the release of N16 million monthly stipend for all the registered Baales in the four traditional areas of the State in February 2023 after their council had appealed for it.
Making further revelation, the President disclosed that the Remo Traditional Council started paying its Baales N15000 per Baale per quarter upon receiving the first grant from the Ogun State government.
Yewa and Ijebu paid a few selected baales for two months. The story is not different in Egba.
Falola lamented that the baales later discovered that the state government had been releasing their monthly stipends regularly up till the month of October 2023.
His words “in February this year, the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs confirmed the release of N16 million for our stipends. He believed this was a special grant by the state government outside the statutory monthly allocation to the traditional sector.
He said several appeals had been made in terms of correspondence to the governor about the plight of baales.
