The Oyo State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Mr. Bimbo Kolade, has disclosed that one of the members of Olubadan-in-Council and a former governor of the state, the Osi Olubadan, High Chief Rashidi Ladoja must officially write to the state government to show his rejection of the elevation to the position of a beaded crown monarch.
The commissioner made the disclosure on Wednesday, while briefing members of the press during the ministerial press briefing of the Ministry of information, Culture and Tourism.
He noted that his ministry was yet to receive any formal notification from Lodoja, in respect of his rejection of his elevation to the position of a beaded crown monarch, following the review of the Olubadan Chieftaincy declaration by the state government.
The commissioner, in the company of Mr. Toye Arulogun, his counterpart from the Ministry of Information, informed newsmen that the Osi Olubadan only rejected the elevation on the grounds that he would not be available to accept the staff of office as a beaded crown monarch.
He added that the ministry still awaits Senator Ladoja to pick up the crown whenever he is available, just as he debunked the insinuation in some quarters that the elevation has political connotation.
Mr. Kolade said the elevation was necessary in order to enhance the status of the Olubadan and to be in line with what obtains in other states in Yorubaland as well as to conform to the modern trend in culture and tradition.
In his own remark, the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Toye Arulogun pointed out that due process was followed in the elevation of the high chiefs, adding that there was no judicial impediment to the process.
Arulogun hinted that the Olubadan Chieftaincy review by the state government was in accordance with the law and that adequate consultations were made with relevant stakeholders, including the Olubadan-in-Council and members of the Central Council of Ibadan Indegines (CCII), before the final decision was made.
Packaged by Dare Alesinloye
