Ondo residents protest attempt to impose prince on community

The residents of Ode Irele community, the headquarters of Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State on Thursday staged a protest over an alleged attempt by the state government to impose a prince on the community as a monarch.

The stool of the town became vacant after the demise of the Late Oba Olanrewaju Lebi, who passed away in January 1993. Since the death of the monarch, the case of whom to appoint as the next Oba has not been resolved.

The protesters who gathered in front of the state High Court, Okitipupa, chanting various solidarity songs, urged Governor Luck Aiyedatiwa, to follow due process in the selection and appointment of a new monarch of the town.

The protesters had placards with inscriptions, such as, ‘Irele people demand justice’, ‘All we are saying is to give Irele people justice,’ and ‘Attorney General cannot protect the law of the state’, among others.

Leader of the protesters, Solomon Idowu, said the protest was just for justice to be done on the chieftaincy matter of the community.

He said, “We are here to protest over the position of Obas in Ode-Irele, some years ago, one person invaded the shrine and installed himself as king of our community, we informed the government about his action, and he was thereafter charged to court.

“Our reliable sources told us that the person has gone behind us to Akure and met the Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa on the matter to truncate the due process so that all cases against him must be withdrawn.
“We are seriously against that, law must take its course on him, anyone who is against the law of the land must face the music, and imposition is not acceptable to the people of Irele kingdom. The ruling must be done without any form of compromise.”

Another protester, Odunsanmi Morebise, said some community leaders were behind a plot to truncate the case and declared that the ancestors would not give room for any imposition while urging the state government to allow the kingmakers to follow the due process to select the new Olofun.

However, in his reaction, the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Amidu Takuro, denied the allegations, saying the government did not have any plan to impose kingship candidates on any community.

“I am not aware of any plan to impose candidate on any community. Every community has its laid down rules and regulations on how it handles its chieftaincy matters and the government does not interfere in the process.

“All we do is follow due process in the selection and appointment of obaship candidates. So nobody is imposed on any community to be king,” the commissioner explained.