Adeleke defends appointment of new Obas, insists due process was followed

…As Osun APC accuse Governor of causing division in selection

Governor Ademola Adeleke has insisted that he followed due process in the appointment of new Obas in the state.

The Governor in a statement issued on his behalf by Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, the Commissioner for Information described the allegations of misconduct, corruption and abuse of power as unfounded and baseless.

The Governor was responding to a statement credited to the the Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) accusing the Governor of needlessly promoting crisis in Igbajo and Iree by tinkering with the choice of the legally installed monarchs of the two towns, Oba Phillips Adegboyega Famodun, the Owa of Igbajo and Oba Raphael Oluponle of Iree, according to the tradition and custom of the two communities.

Specifically, the party noted that when the Adeleke-led government met a stumbling block in rallying the support of the authentic kingmakers of Igbajo to do the hatchet job of the illegal re-selection of another Owa of Igbajo, it resulted to the recruitment of five non-indigenes of the town on Friday who were instantly appointed one-day warrant chiefs for a gratification of N250,000 each just for them to pose as kingmakers at the Multi-purpose Conference Hall of the Local Government Service Commission, State Secretariat, Abere, Osun State, to elect a new Owa of Igbajo.

In his remark on the bizarre development, the Osun State APC chairman, Sooko Tajudeen Lawal, in a statement issued by the party’s Director of Media and Information, Chief Kola Olabisi, today, said the unsavoury development smacked of desecration of the culture and custom of the ancient town of Igbajoland.

Lawal pointedly stated that it was unfortunate that Osun State with the level of her advancement in education could be experiencing this type of shame that Governor Adeleke is bringing on to the people of the state by this time in the history of this nation.

He protested that the founding fathers of the state and Allah would not forgive those who foisted a registered liability in the person of Adeleke as the state governor of Osun State.

Lawal told Adeleke and his co-travellers that they are quite aware that the illegality woven together in a form of political vendetta against the authentic Oba Phillips Adegboyega Famodun, the Owa of Igbajoland and Oba Raphael Oluponle of Iree, cannot stand as it cannot withstand the legal fireworks which was the reason their illegal re-selection process was rushed because the state courts shut by Adeleke for four months by proxy are reopening on Monday.

In the state APC chairman’s words: “If it is the Igbo background that is working against the mastery of Yoruba culture and custom by Governor Adeleke, one would have expected his retinue of aides to guide him aright that the executive cannot assume the position of the judiciary.

“Is Adeleke not aware that the state government is a defendant in the Igbajo and Iree Obaship conundrum in the courts of competent jurisdiction?

“When has it become a norm for the government to reselect a monarch for a community in the Governor’s Office and make use of urchins and impostors who are not even from such a community as one-day warrant chiefs?

“How can such an impostor monarch who emerges from such an illegal arrangement earn and command the respect of the people who did not have an input in his illegal re-selection?

“It is a pity that Makinde allowed himself to be a willing tool in the hands of disgruntled political actors who are only interested in throwing the hitherto peaceful Igbajo community into avoidable turmoil.

“How much success does Makinde think he can make in the ancient town of Igbajo as an imposed Owa who can neither sit nor fly?

“What does Makinde want history to say about him and his co-travellers for attracting confusion, violence and schism into his place of birth because of a mere desperation to become an Oba which cannot and will not fly?

“Enough of the ridiculing of all Osun traditional and academic institutions by the kick-and-start Governor Adeleke out of his lack of grasp of anything in governance, management, or even rationality.

“We have witnessed a lot of commotions and anomalies in the State of the Virtuous since Adeleke came into the saddle in the state Judiciary, State Polytechnics, State Colleges of Education, royal palaces etc and are still counting.

“One fact remains that Oba Phillips Adegboyega Famodun remains the Owa of Igbajoland as he was duly selected by the people through their kingmakers and ratified by the state government, legally installed and given a staff of office after he had completed the necessary traditional rites while the traditional stakeholders in the ancient town had stated that it is a taboo for them to perform another series of traditional rites for another person when the substantive monarch is very much alive.

“We are appealing to the peace-loving people of Igbajo not to take the laws into their hands but to continue to put their hope and expectation in the hand of God and supremacy of the rule of law which has been the pillar of strength of every reasonable and responsible community,” Lawal counselled.

He also described the drama in Iree, where their newly imposed Oba, Prince Muritala Oyelakin, broke into the seclusion and forced his way in against the wish of the custodian of the area.

“The whole world must be alert to the fact that Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun appears to be on the loose. But we want to caution him not to precipitate crises in Igbajo and Iree.

“One only knows the beginning of an affliction, especially when one ignites it, but no one can predict those that will survive it,” the APC chairman added.

Alimi in his response on behalf of the Governor called on the public to recall that the present administration at its inception set up a number of committees to review the activities of the immediate past administration particularly towards the end of its tenure in response to the yearnings of the people of the State who felt some of the activities were detrimental to the progress of the State.

Speaking further, he said, “One of such committees was the one that reviewed activities on Chieftaincy matters from July 16 to November 26 2022. The Committee held public sessions and received several petitions on which it wrote its report. A White Paper Drafting Committee reviewed the report of the Committee before it was further reviewed by the State Executive Council and a White Paper was issued.”

“The White Paper touched upon several Chieftaincy matters handled by the immediate past administration towards the end of its tenure and gave succor to the people in line with their yearnings. Prominent among the Chieftaincy matters are the stools of Aree of Iree, Akirun of Ikirun and Owa of Igbajo.”

“On the stool of Aree of Iree, it was discovered that the immediate past administration deliberately bypassed the town’s kingmakers and made use of warrant chiefs to select and approve an Oba for Iree. The White Paper therefore advised the Iree Kingmakers who were in court to protest the action of the immediate past administration to withdraw the suit with an assurance that they would be allowed to perform their traditional duty.

“In response, the Kingmakers’ lawyers presented necessary documents which indicated they were prepared and willing to withdraw their suit which would be filed once the courts which were on lockdown resumed.With this, preparations to re-fill the stool following due process began and after a keen contest, Prince Muritala Oyelakin was selected by the Iree Kingmakers and his appointment was duly ratified by the State Executive Council as the Aree of Iree.

“On the stool of Akirun of Ikirun, the White Paper stated that all contending parties should await the decision of the Court of Appeal on the suit filed by one of the ruling houses in Ikirun which was dissatisfied with the action of the immediate past administration on the Akirun stool.”

“The White Paper stated that a fresh selection process would take place in Igbajo to enable all eligible princes from the Owa Oke Odo Ruling House participate in a free and fair selection in the interest of fair play, equity and in line with the custom and tradition of Igbajo.”

“Consequently a fresh selection process began and all interested princes from the eligible ruling house participated in the selection process. When it became expedient for the Igbajo Kingmakers to hold their selection meeting to appoint an Owa-elect, five surviving Kingmakers out of the six recognized by the Owa of Igbajo Chieftaincy Declaration deliberately refused to do so.

“After refusing to attend several meetings to which they were invited by the Local Council, Government had no other option than to invoke the provisions of Section 17 of the Chiefs Law of Osun State which permitted the revocation of the performance of any delegated function by any one and the appointment of other persons to perform such a delegated function.

“Thus, warrant kingmakers appointed according to law performed their duty and selected an Owa of Igbajo elect whose appointment is to be ratified by the State Executive Council.

“The Government has gone to this length to explain the course of action it took so that members of the public would be adequately informed and enlightened to understand that the actions were taken to correct the injustice perpetrated by the immediate past administration on some Chieftaincy stools towards the end of its tenure in office and in response to the yearning of the majority of the people of the affected communities who appeared before the committee set up by this administration and requested for fresh processes which would be free and fair and in line with the tradition and customs of their respective communities. This, the Government has done.

“We therefore affirmed that as a government, we acted within the law and tradition as well as in the best interest of the people of the affected towns,” the statement read.