The head of the Seriki line in Ibadan, Chief Adebayo Oyediji, has urged the Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, not to dabble in the controversy over who will become the next Olubadan of Ibadanland after the demise of the last occupier of the throne, Oba Samuel Odugade.
After the death of the monarch last week, Oyediji said he should be the next king of Ibadan and not the Balogun Olubadan, High Chief Saliu Adetunji, who is favoured by the Olubadan succession system and the Olubadan-in-Council.
He said a court ruling in 1989 favoured the Seriki line’s admittance into the Olubadan ruling line, adding that since 1989 when the judgment was obtained, the Olubadan-in-Council had refused to respect it.
The Olubadan-in-Council in its reaction to Oyediji’s claim of being the next king based on the 1989 court ruling, said Adetunji would be crowned the next Olubadan. It stated that Oyediji was not even the Seriki because the late Olubadan did not promote him from Osi Seriki before he died.
Oyediji reacted by saying that he actually paid N170,000 to the late king for him to be elevated but he was denied the promotion. He warned that if the Olubadan-in-Council went ahead to install Adetunji, they would be contravening the court injunction.
On Tuesday in Abuja, Governor Ajimobi told journalists that Oyediji would not be the next Olubadan because apart from not qualifying to become the next king, he had yet to attain the Seriki status.
He said, “The Seriki House started during the period of the late Chief Adisa Akinloye and it has been decided even long ago that to be Olubadan from the Seriki line, you have to join if there are concurrent deaths of both the Ekerin and Ashipa, then you can qualify as Seriki to be Ekerin. But now there is no vacancy for any Ekerin.
“The man (Oyediji) who lays claim to the Olubadan stool, even if he was to be promoted would only become Ekerin. He cannot be Olubadan. It is not going to happen.”
But on Wednesday, Oyediji told our correspondent in Ibadan that Ajimobi had no right to take a decision on the matter especially when it was in court. He added that the court would hear the matter on Thursday (Today) in Ibadan.
He said, “Only the court can decide the case; it is not for the governor to decide. He cannot be the judge. The court had issued a restraining order that no one should be promoted up to the Olubadan level. Can Ajimobi erase a court order? He cannot do it. I am only waiting for the decision of the court and not what someone will say.”
When reminded that the governor said he (Oyediji) was not even a Seriki yet and that the best he could aspire to was the Ekerin Olubadan title, Oyediji said Ajimobi should not interfere in such matters.
“We will leave that to the court to decide. He should not interfere in this matter. As a governor, he should not interfere in this matter. Can he take a decision on such matter that is in court? He should tell people that the case is in court instead of taking a position.
“The court will hear the matter tomorrow (today). They will know that all the elevations that had been done were illegally conducted (because there was a court order). The court has said no elevation should be done from Ekerin to Balogun and Olubadan. The court has already restrained them and they will know tomorrow (today),” Oyediji said.
