Fresh indications have emerged that the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, deliberately stayed away from the inauguration of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, as Chairman of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs.
The Alaafin’s absence was linked to claims that he was never consulted by Governor Seyi Makinde before the decision on the rotational chairmanship was taken.
Governor Makinde on Thursday inaugurated Oba Ladoja as chairman of the council at the House of Chiefs, Oyo State House of Assembly Complex, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan. The Olubadan is expected to occupy the position for the next two years.
At the event, the governor stated that he had consulted the three foremost traditional rulers involved in the rotational arrangement the Alaafin of Oyo, the Olubadan of Ibadanland and the Soun of Ogbomoso before arriving at the decision. Makinde said the monarchs collectively agreed that the Olubadan should assume the chairmanship before it is rotated among them.
The Council of Obas and Chiefs last convened in 2011 following prolonged leadership disputes involving the late monarchs of Oyo, Ibadan and Ogbomoso.
However, the Alaafin has rejected the governor’s claim. In a statement issued by his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, the Oyo Palace said the monarch neither met with the governor nor endorsed the idea of rotational chairmanship among the three traditional rulers.
“The attention of the Alaafin’s Palace has been drawn to a statement credited to His Excellency, Governor Seyi Makinde, that he consulted with the three traditional rulers in the state ,the Alaafin, the Olubadan and the Soun of Ogbomoso on the rotational chairmanship of the State Council of Obas and Chiefs,” the statement read.
“The Palace hereby states clearly that at no time did His Imperial Majesty, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Engineer Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, hold any meeting with the governor or with any of the two traditional rulers mentioned above.
“Also, the Alaafin did not tell the governor nor make any categorical statement endorsing rotational chairmanship among the three traditional rulers in the state.”
The palace added that the position of the Alaafin and the entire Oyo community on the Council of Obas and Chiefs had already been clearly stated in a memorandum submitted to the governor by the Oyo Council of Elders.
The development has further deepened discussions around traditional leadership hierarchy and governance within Oyo State.
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