A member of the Oyo State House of Assembly representing Ibadan South East Constituency 1, Hon. Fatai Adesina, has disclosed that the house is not aware of the Olubadan Chieftaincy review and the coronation of the 21 newly promoted High Chiefs and Baales to the status of Obas in Ibadan.
He specifically stated that officially, none of the members was aware of the purported review and the coronation.
Adesina disclosed that the lawmakers merely read the coronation of the 21 Obas on the pages of newspapers like every other citizen and resident of the state.
The lawmaker made these disclosures while addressing journalists shortly after he observed the two-Rakat 2017 Eld-E-Kabir prayers at the University of Ibadan on Friday.
He said “We have not been notified. And I can tell you categorically that I am reading it on the pages of newspapers like every other person in Oyo State. And we know that very soon we will get to the end of the matter.
“I can only speak on myself. I can’t speak for the house because I don’t have that mandate. But, if they are coming to do the amendment, I can tell you that it is late. The act has been done. In the sense that, don’t forget the matter is in court.
“So, let us wait for the judiciary since they are the ones that have the mandate. When we have issue like this it is their own mandate. But I can tell you live and direct that we are yet to be informed about the amendment.”
Adesina, however, while speaking as an Ibadan indigenes declared the coronation and the review of the Ibadan Chieftaincy declaration spear-headed by Governor Abiola Ajimobi of the state as a “charade”.
He said, “But as an Ibadan indigene, I see what happened as a charade and a theatre, because we have been asking so many questions coming up on daily basis, are we saying that we can have an Oba without an area of authority?
“When you say Olubadan of Ibadanland, you know he covers the whole of Ibadanland, when you say Ooni of Ife, he covers the whole of Ife, when you say Awujale of Ijebu, he covers the whole of Ijebuland, even most of these small small towns under Ijebu, they are more or less autonomous.
“Ibadan is a big city under the leadership of Olubadan of Ibadanland, are we now saying we have Oba of Ali-Iwo, or we have Onisale Osi of Isale Osi, or paraventure when they are going to be Olubadan they will abandon the crown they are wearing now or they use the new one? That is the question.
“I think the governor has not done a very thourogh job before coming up with this.”
He described the recommendation of the panel of inquiry as against wisdom.
“It is not done, it sounds against wisdom. Ibadan is not divided, I am trying to reach the President of CCII, don’t forget that we have the press war now, different people will be coming with different things on what is on ground.
“I have been trying him, you cannot come out and say 90 percent of Ibadan, 90 percent of what? That if this should stand, are they seperating the autority of the Olubadan. Are they going to prostrate for the Olubadan when they are wearing the crown?” He queried.
He lambasted the so called elders of Ibadan and the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) over their purported endorsement of the review, saying that none of them had capacity to make such ridiculous statements.
“I am a bonafide indigene of Ibadan, so there is no crisis in Ibadan. My advice is that, there is no aggrieved Ibadan indigene, those that are calling themselves elders of Ibadan and the CCII you cannot compare them with the generality of Ibadan and that is why it is incumebt on the government to consolt the populace before you embark on something that will affect the people”, he added.
Adesina said the house will, however, take its stand when it resumes after its recess, insisting that nobody can influence the house to dance to the tune of the state government.
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