By - Traditional rulers under the Network of Kings from Osun Countrysides celebrate Adeleke’s re-election as proof his first term connected with ordinary residents
- The group’s praise comes bundled with a detailed set of second-term demands, from tarred roads into farming communities to better welfare for monarchs themselves
- Palace security, capacity-building for traditional rulers and regular town hall meetings with the governor also feature on the list
Traditional rulers from Osun’s rural communities have added their voices to the wave of congratulatory messages following Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election, framing the outcome as evidence that his administration’s work over the past four years registered with voters beyond the state capital.
The message came from the Network of Kings from Osun Countrysides, in a statement jointly signed by the group’s president, HRM Oba Dr Ojarotade Adewale, the Alaa of Ilaa Ijesa, and the chairman of its Board of Trustees, HRM Oba Prof Adekunle Okunoye Adedeji, the Eburu of Iba Land. The monarchs pointed to road construction and rehabilitation, consistent payment of salaries and pensions, renovated schools and primary healthcare centres, and support programmes for youths, women and farmers as the achievements that shaped their reading of the election result.
Rather than treating the win purely as a political outcome, the group described it as validation from residents themselves, framing the administration’s approach as one built on empathy and visible change reaching into communities outside Osogbo.
That praise, however, arrived attached to a fairly specific set of expectations for what should come next. The monarchs used the same statement to lay out a rural development agenda they want reflected in Adeleke’s second term, starting with tarred roads reaching agricultural hubs and continuous grading of feeder roads that connect farming communities to markets. They also pushed for modern health centres in rural areas and upgraded classrooms in village schools, arguing that the improvements already visible in urban areas need to extend further into the countryside.
Beyond infrastructure, the group’s demands touched on their own institution as traditional rulers. They called for improved welfare packages for monarchs, stronger security around palaces and rural domains, capacity-building programmes tailored to traditional leadership, and a formal structure of town hall meetings between the governor and monarchs rather than ad hoc engagement.
The statement closed by positioning the monarchs as active partners rather than passive well-wishers, with the group pledging to mobilise their communities behind policies aimed at improving residents’ lives going forward.
