Despite litigation challenging the emergence of Akeem Owoade as the 45th Alaafin of Oyo, Governor Seyi Makinde has said the April 5 coronation of Owoade will go on as scheduled.
Speaking with The PUNCH, on Thursday, through his Special Adviser on Media, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, Makinde held that there was no court judgment stopping the state government from the coronation of Owoade as Alaafin.
“Is there any ruling that stops the government from going ahead with the coronation? Is there any?
“We are going ahead because there is no court judgment that is stopping us from going ahead,” Makinde said.
This position comes despite no fewer than two contestants for the throne, Lukman Gbadegesin and Ismaila Owoade filing lawsuits challenging Makinde’s approval and his January 13 presentation of certificate and staff of office to Owoade as new Alaafin.
The litigations commenced after Governor Seyi Makinde approved Owoade as Alaafin and on January 13 presented him with his certificate and staff of office at the Governor’s Office, State Secretariat, Ibadan.
One of the lawsuits was filed by Prince Lukman Gbadegesin, a contender for the throne, who is arguing that Owoade’s appointment violates the Chiefs Law of Oyo State, 2000, and the Registered Alaafin Chieftaincy Declaration of 1961.
Filed on February 12, Gbadegesin’s suit seeks to nullify Owoade’s appointment and prevent him from assuming the throne or performing any royal duties.
Similarly, another Oyo prince and former aspirant to the Alaafin throne, Ismaila Owoade filed a separate lawsuit against Governor Makinde and 19 others.
His suit challenges his exclusion from the selection process, which he claims was abruptly truncated with the appointment of Prince Abimbola Owoade.
In a conversation with The PUNCH, on Thursday, head of the state planning committee for the Alaafin coronation, Demola Ojo, also affirmed that preparation for the coronation was ongoing.
In the meantime, the Alaafin-designate, at his private residence, played host to many visitors upon his arrival in Oyo town, on Thursday.
‘Majority of Oyo pleased with Owoade’
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Oyo Metropolitan Development Association, Archbishop Emeritus Ayo Ladigbolu, has declared that most of the people of Oyo town are pleased with the emergence of Akeem Owoade as the next Alaafin of Oyo.
The octogenarian Oyo prince added that time will heal the wounds or grievances of those opposed to Owoade’s emergence.
Speaking, Ladigbolu declared, “The majority of our people are pleased to have a king. Oyo needs leadership, peace, progress and prosperity. All hands are on deck in support of a very successful coronation ceremony,” Ladigbolu stated.
Ladigbolu, who was one of the aspirants to become the 45th Alaafin, said the people of the town accepted Owoade as king because Oyo town yearned for “leadership, peace, progress and prosperity.”
Speaking on the opposition to Owoade’s emergence, Ladigbolu declared that “Time will heal the pains of dissenting voices.”
In an exclusive conversation with The PUNCH, on Thursday, Ladigbolu said Oyo town was rather upbeat and the people were supportive of a successful coronation.
The Alaafin of Oyo-designate had on Wednesday returned to Nigeria, after spending about seven weeks in his Canada base.
His return came exactly a month before his official coronation as the 45th Alaafin of Oyo, scheduled for April 5.
