Chieftaincy tussle: Call Deji of Akure to order, Ondo traditional rulers — Olus tell Akeredolu
By Akintunde Jacobs, Akure
Traditional rulers and Olus in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo state have called on the State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to call the Deji of Akure, Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi Ogunlade, to order over illegal installation of a rival Olu of Ilado-Igbatoro community when the reigning Olu, Johnson Ajomole, is still alive.
According to the Traditional Rulers through a letter dated 27th June, 2022 and addressed to the State Government, the action of the Deji of Akure is already causing uneasy calm and palpable tension at Ilado Igbatoro Community.
The letter signed by a legal practitioner, Femi Emmanuel Emodamori on behalf of Ilado-Igbatoro Community Chiefs, the Akure North Local Government Council of Obas, and the Registered Trustees of Olus and Baales in Akure North Local Government, however, cautioned that if Aladetoyinbo is not stopped and disciplined by the State Government over latest violation of government’s directive against installing or removing Minor Chiefs in Akure North local government area, such could lead to breakdown of law and order in Ilado-Igbatoro Community.
The lawyer said, “We have the instruction of the Ilado-Igbatoro Community Chiefs, the Akure North Local Government Council of Obas, and the Registered Trustees of Olus and Baales in Akure North Local Government (hereinafter collectively referred to as ‘Our Clients’) to report the Deji of Akure, HRM Oba Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi to your office over a fresh deliberate and deviant violation of the extant directive of the State Government stopping him from appointing and/or removing minor chiefs in Akure North Local Government Area pending the release of the White Paper on the recommendations of Hon. Justice Ajama Panel of Enquiry on Chieftaincy Matters and Crises in the State.
“The State Government’s directive in this regard is contained in the letter with Reference Number CD/C6/9/20/T/212, dated 19th April, 2021 and signed by the Permanent Secretary to your Ministry, directing the Deji to stop installing minor Chiefs in communities in Akure North Local Government, and further directing the Kabiyesi to reverse such improper appointments he had already made. The letter was copied to the Chairman of Akure North Local Government Area for enforcement.”
The lawyer said, “According to Our Clients, on 22nd June, 2022, the monarch (the Deji) again defied the said directive of the State Government by purportedly installing one Dayo Afelumo as a rival Olu of Ilado-Igbatoro Community in the same Akure North Local Government, even though Chief Kayode Johnson Ajomole (J.P), the incumbent Olu of Ilado-Igbatoro since 1987 (over 34 years) is still alive, hale and hearty.”
Chief Kayode Johnson Ajomale is also currently Chairman of the Registered Trustees of Association of Olus and Baales in Akure North Local Government, and a member of the Chieftaincy Committee of the Local Government.
“They (my clients) had also filed an application to restrain the Deji from making any purported appointment and/or installation of any person as the Olu of Ilado, pending the hearing and determination of the Suit.
“Despite that pending application, the Deji and his cronies appointed and installed a rival Olu of Ilado Community. However, according to Our Clients, the provocative and defiant action of the Deji is already generating serious tension in Ilado Igbatoro Community.
“The youths of the Community have reportedly vowed to resist the unprecedented desecration of their custom and the stool of their traditional headship by the Deji of Akure and Dayo Afelumo,” the lawyer said.
