Community wants Ogun govt to fill vacant stool after 15 years stalemate

Residents and leaders of IteleOta, a community in Ado Odo/ Ota Local Government, Ogun State, yesterday stormed the Governor’s Office, Okemosan, Abeokuta, demanding expedited action on the appointment and installation of a new traditional ruler for the town.

The residents noted that the ancient town had had no monarch for more than 15 years after the late traditional ruler, Oba Jimoh Arowolo, passed on.

The protesters, who were led by the Baales (Village Heads) from the community, argued that lack of a traditional ruler for the community for almost two decades had impacted negatively on its development.

They complained that the state government had been foot-dragging on ratifying their choice of a new king, Prince Ademola Eletu Odibo Asorota, alleging that a group of land grabbers positioning one of their own as the new king had plotted to thwart the process.

One of the Baales, Oluyemi Onifade, asked the government to speed up the process of installing a new king for the community, while warning that “any manipulation against the people’s wish will plunge the town into chaos.”

Onifade said, “Ademola Asorota is an indigene of Itele from Iliwo in Itele. He is never an outsider. He is never an outcast. We don’t want chaos, we don’t want crisis in Itele.”

Addressing the protesters on behalf of the state government, the Director of Chieftaincy Affairs at the State Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Adesoji Adewuyi, disclosed that the selection process on the Itele stool had been stalled by a litigation.

Adewuyi said the Ministry had transferred the matter to the Ministry of Justice for legal advice before the government takes a final decision.

He assured the protesters of government’s transparency in the process to avoid crisis in the community.