Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, has declared that he was hale and hearty, adding that there was nothing wrong with his health.

Oba Sijuwade, who was reacting to media report (not the Vanguard) yesterday that he was flown abroad for medical attention, stated that he was in London to observe his yearly vacation and not as a result of any ailment.

The monarch, in a statement by his Public Relations Officer, Mr. Funmilola Olorunnisola, described the publication as mischievous, misleading and a calculated attempt to misinform the public.

According to him, Sijuwade, as "an old man and as a hard-working and irrepressible man certainly needs and deserves his holiday.

"His travel at this time of the year in particular has always been usual and consistent as the Olojo festival, the greatest and most prominent on Ife cultural calendar is fast approaching.

"When you are on holiday you restrict yourself to what an average journalist will refer to as selective exposure. Kabiyesi was not surprised but considered the crying headline embarrassing.

"It serves nobody any good to twine up internal and domestic activities of the Ooni of the normally scheduled holiday to the U.K," the statement added.