Contrary to insinuation and widespread rumour that the obaship crisis in Awo Ekiti in Irepodun /Ifelodun Local Government, has a religious undertone , elites of the community have declared that the rejection of Oba Azees Ajibade Aladejuyigbe as the new Alawo was not a war against Muslims.
The town has been embroiled in crisis since last week, following government’s installment of Ajibade as the new Alawo against the wishes of the elites and the two royal families in the town, Aladejuyigbe and Adesiyan.
The development led to the declaration of dusk-to-dawn curfew on Sunday by Governor Ayodele Fayose and the closure of the palace in the town by the aggrieved parties.
In a chat with DAILY POST in Ado Ekiti on Thursday, a former Commissioner and head of Aladejuyigbe’s royal family, Chief Eben Alade , disowned Ajibade’s membership of the family he superintends over in the town.
But the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Barr Kolapo Kolade, said the 12 kingmakers in the town voted to select Ajibade after being recommended with other five princes to occupy the throne.
Kolade said it was wrong to have accused the government of manipulating the process, saying the government only began the selection process after Justice Dele Omotoso of Ekiti State High Court had disposed off the case instituted against Ajibade .
Alade, a retired Permanent Secretary added that, “I am the head of Aladejuyigbe family in Awo and as far as history is concerned there were three Aladejuyigbes that had ruled the town.
“The first Aladejuyigbe Oyinyosawawo was our progenitor . The Aladejuyigbe the second , Oba Samuel Aladejuyigbe and my own father, James Aladejuyigbe 111. These were our forebears that had occupied the throne. So if Ajibade feels he is from this royal family, he should point to his ancestor among these people.
“I am the head of the family, I know history of our dynasties. What we are contesting was the propriety of the government’s action to appoint a non-prince as our monarch. We don’t care who becomes the monarch , whether Muslim or Christian.
“Hardly could you see any family without Muslims and Christians co-habiting peacefully, so the rumour that we are fighting religious war is unfounded and nonsensical .
“All these crises would have not have arisen if government had exercised restraint on this issue, because when we learnt that government was planning to present the new Alawo with the staff of office, we approached the court to seek for injunction barring the exercise and before the exparte motion was entertained ,government had performed the exercise”, he said .
Alade appealed to the indigenes of the town to stop bandying around that the bedlam had assumed a religious war, saying doing so may taint the integrity of the town.
Refuting the claim that Ajibade was imposed on the town, Kolade averred that, “the injunction granted them abated on August 6, 2015 and the kingmakers sat on the same day to vote where Prince Ajibade scored 6 votes to defeat his closest rival, Prince Adesoji Alade who scored 2 votes.
“Even we didn’t present the monarch with any staff of office until the eligibility case instituted against him was trashed by the court .
The governor only acted as an approving authority and has no power to manipulate or arm twist the kingmakers”, he clarified.
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