Ola Ajayi
13 November 2008
The battle for supremacy between the Okere of Sakiland, Oba AbdulKadir Kelani and the Council Chairman of Saki West, Mr. AbdulWaheed Tijani-Mossa, over the appointment of Bale Iya of Saki, a minor chieftaincy title, may lead to the deposition of the monarch.
There has been a row between the duo, with the monarch having preference for one Chief Ismail Akanni Olubodun, while the council chairman preferred Alhaji Raimi Adesina Borepo.
It was gathered that the king was not favourably disposed to the imposition of a candidate to fill the title but insisted that the Ifa oracle had made its choice according to the tradition which they must abide with.
The disagreement led to the withdrawal of palace workers by the chairman. Those withdrawn from the palace included the Chief Security Officer (CSO), the driver, the palace secretary, typist and the messenger.
Indication of a plan to remove the monarch emerged, yesterday, when the Oyo State Government declared that the monarch had not been given a staff of office which confers on him full authority to act as a king but was merely given a letter of approval.
The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Mr. Hosea Agboola, who spoke with newsmen in Ibadan on the face-off between the 'Okere-elect' and the council boss, said, "Look, he (Okere) got there through God and through us, whether the process is valid or not".
"But, we did not give him all the documents that he should have as a full-fledged king. He is just an Okere with a letter. Because of the court case, we cannot go further.
He said: "We only gave him letter of appointment. I'm not a judge. If the court says 'to your tent o Israel,' we will abide by the court order. As far as the government is concerned, he is Okere-elect because we are yet to give him a staff and other instruments of office. We only gave him a letter that his enthronement was approved."
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