Respect tradition, stay off from selection process – Community urges Ondo Govt

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By Temitope Adedeji, Akure

The Elders and good people of Ifon community in Ose local area of Ondo have pleaded with the state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, to respect tradition and stay clear of the selection process of the new Olufon of Ifon.

The plea was made in Akure, the state capital by a Prince, Prof Adetokunbo Adeola that the tradition has to be respected by allowing the kingmakers to do the right thing instead of the imposition that the state government is planning against the wishes of the people of the area.

It would be recalled that Oba Israel Adeusi, was murdered on the 26th of November, 2020 at Elegbeka along the Ifon-Benin highway, the Olufon stool has since been vacant and some significant steps have been put in place to install a new monarch, like the appointment of warrant chiefs who would choose an Oba and present him to the government for appointment and approval.

Professor Adetokunbo Adeola, a Prince of the community while speaking with the newsmen in Akure on behalf of the community stated that politics has come into the selection process, stressing that the government has nothing to do with the selection of an Oba as it is the people who would appoint their Oba. His words ” Today, we have a candidate who sees himself as an anointed candidate of the government, he goes about in town, boasting and already doing things that an Oba is supposed to be doing and we feel this is wrong.

There are people in Ifon who are supposed to take a prominent role in the appointment of an Oba. Nobody is talking about it just because he is a political stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the government is hell-bent on appointing him”.

“When Umaugba family was written to produce candidate(s), the Erunogbe family went to court, I also went to court to challenge the 68 declarations because it’s an aberration, it was registered during an interregnum, the case in court which Erunogbe in court was at Owo, I think maybe because of pressure on the judge, he recused himself on it and washed his hands and I guess that case file will be transferred to A kure here today.

He said further that the case file is going back to the chief judge and the chief judge will assign that case to a sympathetic judge, I mean sympathetic to the government and I think that judge is going to sit in chambers and will vacate the injunction which the Owo judge gave and when you vacate the injunction, what will happen ? Government will now quickly rush certain things to the executive council, approve it and by Thursday, appoint and Oba for Ifon. The candidate is already boasting and that is what is very alarming”.

“We know we don’t have hands in government but shouldn’t they allow us appoint our own Oba ? We have the king makers then why are you troubling them ? We are begging, please leave Ifon alone, allow us appoint our Oba.

Traditionally, we will appoint one and set up a process of declaration and give to the government. When we do this, a proper declaration will be put in place in Ifon, it is left to us.

The way Ifon is now, there’s no representation in this APC government, Ifon has not been given any representation. This is another period of election, the House of Assembly candidate is not from Ifon, the House other Reps candidate is not from Ifon, same goes for senate. So they leave us, after our selection, they can go ahead and appoint one”.

“Just recently and surprisingly too, some notable APC members and top political office holders from Ose Local Government Area, who are not from Ifon town, had been reaching out to some of the Ifon Kingmakers, while claiming that the Ondo State Governor had given them the assignments to ensure the selection of the acclaimed Government’s candidate and that they are going to give it all it takes to get about eight out of the fourteen Kingmakers to the side of the acclaimed anointed candidate to pave way for his selection in a clandestine manner”.

“Ifon needs an acceptable King of their own choice that will be freely selected by the Ifon Kingmakers through the guidance of the gods of our land. We say NO to any planned imposition of an individual on us as the next Olufon of Ifon, as our custom and tradition can never be sacrificed on the altar of any political party membership”.

“We wish to appeal to the Ondo State Government and every politician that had been assigned to unduly interfere in our traditional process of selecting the next Olufon of Ifon, that politics should not be introduced to the process of filling the vacant stool of the Olufon of Ifon. The Ifon Kingmakers should be allowed to search for and select the next Olufon of Ifon in the traditional means as laid down by our forefathers. We also appeal to the Ondo State Government, that the Ondo State judiciary be allowed to resolve the Olufon Chieftaincy matter that is now before it, without undue interference from any quarters”.

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