The Palace of the Alaafin of Oyo has denied claims by Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, that he consulted Oba Akeem Owoade on the rotational chairmanship of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs.
The denial was contained in a statement issued on Thursday in Ibadan by the Director of Media and Publicity to the Alaafin, Bode Durojaye. The palace described the governor’s assertion as inaccurate, insisting that no such consultation ever took place.
New Daily Prime earlier reported that Governor Makinde had, during the inauguration of the newly constituted Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs at the House of Chiefs, Secretariat, Ibadan, said he consulted three paramount rulers in the state — the Alaafin of Oyo, the Olubadan of Ibadanland and the Soun of Ogbomosoland — before agreeing on a rotational chairmanship for the council.
At the event, the governor proclaimed the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, as the inaugural chairman of the council, stating that the three monarchs had reached consensus on the rotation beginning with the Olubadan. The Alaafin of Oyo, however, was conspicuously absent from the inauguration ceremony.
Makinde had said, “I consulted the Alaafin of Oyo, the Olubadan of Ibadanland and the Soun of Ogbomoso. And the agreement we reached is that they will start the rotation with the Kabiyesi Olubadan of Ibadanland. So, on that basis, I hereby pronounce the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs inaugurated.”
Reacting to the statement, the Alaafin’s palace rejected the claim, saying Oba Owoade neither met with the governor nor endorsed the rotational arrangement.
“The attention of the Alaafin’s Palace has been drawn to a statement credited to 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 wants to state clearly that there was no time that His Imperial Majesty, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade I, held any meeting with either the State Governor or any of the two traditional rulers mentioned above.”
The palace further stated that the Alaafin did not at any point communicate his endorsement of a rotational chairmanship to the governor or make any categorical statement in support of such an arrangement.
“Also, the Alaafin did not tell the Governor or make a categorical statement on his endorsement of rotational chairmanship among the three traditional rulers in the state,” the statement added.
According to the palace, the position of the Alaafin and the entire Oyo community on the constitution and operations of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs had already been clearly stated in a memorandum submitted to the governor.
“The position of the Alaafin and the entire Oyo community on the general issue of the State Council of Obas and Chiefs has been enunciated in a memo delivered to His Excellency by the Oyo Council of Elders,” the palace said.
