South-West Obas Become Richer After Jonathan's Visits

President Goodluck Jonathan has made some traditional rulers in the South-West geopolitical zone millions of naira richer by raining heavy drops of dollars on them in order to get their support in the forthcoming general elections.

Following the postponement of the polls, the president relocated to the South-West, where he held a series of meetings with traditional rulers, groups and individuals.
According to analysts, South-West voters might determine the outcome of the presidential election. Therefore, the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party are making great efforts to win the votes of the people in the region.

The Punch has learnt that Jonathan and his team doled out various amounts of money in dollars to monarchs during his recent visits to the region. However, a few of the traditional rulers and chiefs refused to take the money. Reliable sources revealed that some traditional rulers received as much as $250,000 (N50m) each, while others were given $10,000 (N2.2m) each.

Sources also disclosed that the sum of money given to each traditional ruler was determined by a set of criteria, which ranged from status and class to the popularity and perceived political clout of the monarch.
A prominent lawyer, who was speaking with The Punch correspondent in confidence, alleged that each of the paramount rulers received about $250,000 (about N50m). He also added that some of the senior Obas were expected to share the largesse with their subordinate Obas and chiefs.