The Olugbon of Orile-Igbon, Oba Francis Alao, has assured Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, that members of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs will give full support to the newly appointed chairman of the council, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, the Olubadan of Ibadan.
Oba Alao gave the assurance in a statement released in Ibadan, the state capital, on Sunday, following a courtesy visit by Governor Makinde to his palace in Orile-Igbon, Surulere Local Government Area, on Friday. The monarch expressed appreciation to the governor for the visit and reaffirmed the loyalty of traditional rulers to the state government.
According to Olugbon, traditional rulers across the five geopolitical zones of the state, Ibadan, Oyo, Ogbomoso, Oke-Ogun and Ibarapa, are united behind the decision to inaugurate the council and appoint Oba Ladoja as its chairman.
“I want to assure Your Excellency that we are all one in the council. We are united across the five zones. People can say things, but we are members of one united family,” Oba Alao said.
The assurance comes amid controversy surrounding the inauguration of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, which Governor Makinde inaugurated on Thursday after a 15-year hiatus. Oba Ladoja emerged as the council’s first chairman at the event held at the House of Chiefs, Parliament Building, Secretariat, Ibadan.
However, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, was notably absent from the inauguration, fuelling speculation and debate within the state’s traditional institution. Governor Makinde had explained that the chairmanship of the council would be rotated among the Olubadan of Ibadan, the Alaafin of Oyo and the Soun of Ogbomoso, describing it as an agreement reached with the three first-class monarchs.
The Alaafin’s palace subsequently disputed this claim. In a statement issued by his media aide, Bode Durojaye, the palace denied that any such meeting took place between the Alaafin and the governor, insisting that Oba Owoade was not consulted on the rotational arrangement.
Addressing the development, Oba Alao, who is the Deputy Chairman of the council, said the state government had acted appropriately in reconstituting the council and urged all traditional rulers to embrace cooperation and dialogue.
He stressed the need for traditional institutions to adapt to modern governance realities, noting that political power structures worldwide had evolved. “The system we are operating in Nigeria is not a monarchy,” he said, urging rulers to work with the government to promote good governance, security, economic development and peaceful coexistence.
Other monarchs present during the visit included the Aresapa of Iresa-Pupa, Oba Moses Ajiboye; the Aranyin of Iranyin, Oba Lasisi Olagbemileke; the Olujado of Ijado, Oba Hammed Adegbile; and Iba Abogunde Tajudeen Aminullahi.
