Ola Ajayi
10 December 2008
GOVERNOR Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo State has said that the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Samuel Odulana's opposition to the elevation of the six village heads to crown-wearing kings stemmed from their unalloyed support for his administration.
Describing the recent threat by the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes(CCII) and Ibadan Elders Forum that the elevation of the chiefs would amount to invitation of anarchy and chaos in the state, as cheap blackmail, he said the two Ibadan associations had tried fruitlessly to turn the chiefs to tools of opposition against his government.
Akala, who spoke through his Special Adviser on Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Mr. Segun Taiwo said it was useless for the associations to be preoccupied with trivial issues like the elevation of the chiefs when other important matters were begging for attention.
He dismissed the allegations that he was the brain behind the purported rudeness to Olubadan. Justifying the intention of the governor to elevate the chiefs, he quoted section 28(1) of the Chiefs Law saying the governor had prerogative to determine who should be a part 11 chiefs.
He argued that agitation for recognition and promotion by the Bales and minor chiefs in Ibadan started several years ago.
"Rather than crying wolves where none exist, the advisory council to Olubadan should endeavour to put their divided house in order. The present outburst is nothing short of calculated blackmail and unnecessary heating up the polity, he stated.
Contrary to the allegations that he was destabilizing the organised Ibadan Traditional Council, he contended that while successive administrations in the state reconvened the meeting of the State Council of Obas and Chief, the governor ensured that the council was reconstituted acting on the judgment of Justice Moshood Abass.
Also, he went further, apart from the enlargement of the council, the governor did not only settle all salaries and allowances of over N24million owed them by Senator Rasihidi Ladoja, but also ensure adequate representation of local governments in the state in line with the law enacted by former Governor, Alhaji Lam Adesina.
In the light of the above, he advised that rather than casting aspersion on the governor, he should be commended for what he had done to make the traditional council in the state be at par with its counterparts in the country.
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