Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde on Thursday inaugurated the state’s Council of Obas and Chiefs for the first time in over a decade, with the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, installed as its chairman.
The ceremony, held at the House of Chiefs in the Secretariat, Ibadan, was notably marked by the absence of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade.
Governor Makinde stated during the event that the chairmanship would rotate among the Olubadan, the Alaafin, and the Soun of Ogbomoso an arrangement he said was agreed upon during a meeting with the three foremost monarchs.
However, the Alaafin’s palace issued a swift rebuttal later on Thursday, denying any such meeting took place.
In a statement signed by his media aide, Bode Durojaye, the palace clarified: “The palace hereby wants to state clearly that there was no time that His Imperial Majesty, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Engineer Abimbola Akeem Owoade 1, held any meeting with either the state governor or any of the two traditional rulers mentioned above.”
