Igwe Gerald Obunadike Mbamalu, the Eze Oranyelu I and Eze Ojoto III in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, raised concerns about not receiving the five percent government allocation meant for traditional rulers in the area.
Despite facing challenges such as youth restiveness, unemployment, and insecurity in their communities, Mbamalu stated that the funds never reach them, making it hard to effectively meet the needs of their people.
Moreover, Mbamalu highlighted that traditional rulers hesitate to take legal action against the state government out of fear of being seen as anti-government. He emphasized that their role is not political and that pursuing their rightful allocation could strain their relationship with the government.
In an interview with The Sun, Mbamalu said, "Traditional rulers are not partisan and if we decide to take state governments to court we will be baptised with different names as anti-government. We are entitled to five per cent of government allocation, but it never comes to us, even though we have a whole lot of challenges in our communities ranging from youth restiveness to unemployment and insecurity. And our subjects will fall back to us as if we have financial allocations from government to meet their needs. In Anambra State, government constituted a vigilance group with 20 personnel in each community."