Oluwo Canvasses Salary Increment For Police, Traditional Rulers

-Pledges Full Support For PCRC

The Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi, has pledged his unwavering support for the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) following his recent appointment as a royal patron of the body.

Addressing journalists at his palace on Wednesday ,in Iwo, the revered monarch expressed deep appreciation for the honour and vowed to use his new role to strengthen community policing and bridge the gap between law enforcement and the grassroots.

“For finding me worthy of the royal patron, I will use my time in office as a patron to help the police community relationships committee (PCRC) and I will use my time in this position to help especially in areas where they lack resources.

“I want appeal to the government to support the committee, particularly through the two critical institutions of community development, the police and the traditional rulers,” he stated.

The Oluwo emphasized the indispensable role of traditional institutions in maintaining peace and security, calling on the Federal Government to increase financial support to monarchs who, he said, serve as the first line of defense against insecurity.

“When it comes to the community, the king rules. If the king is empowered, the police are empowered, and the PCRC’s work becomes easier and more effective. Unfortunately, traditional rulers are not properly funded. We spend from our personal resources to serve our people. That’s why I’m appealing for at least 10 to 20 percent of budgetary allocation to be reserved for traditional institutions.” Oluwo said.

He lamented that the current allocation to traditional rulers is less than 5%, which he described as grossly inadequate. Citing his own personal efforts, Oba Akanbi noted that he has used his personal funds to improve infrastructure and health services in his domain, including the donation of medical equipment worth over a billion naira and self-funded road repairs.

The monarch commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration for its efforts so far, especially in initiatives like student bursaries and youth empowerment funds through the NELFund scheme.

“Step by step, Nigeria will become better. I believe in Nigeria, and I believe this country will become the greatest and best nation in the world,” he declared.

Oba Akanbi also reaffirmed his commitment to the duties of his new role as a royal patron of the PCRC and his vision for a more secure and prosperous Nigeria through community collaboration and traditional leadership.

He further encouraged the state Government to fulfill its promise to restructure the traditional system with proper recognition and funding, stating that any meaningful fight against insecurity must begin at the community level with empowered traditional institutions.

Speaking, PCRC Chairman in Osun State, Popoola Ogundoyin said the award bestowed on Oluwo was in recognition of his contribution to security architecture in the state to use his influence to continue to support PCRC.