High Chiefs in Ikole-Ekiti have expressed disgust over the action of the Ekiti State Deputy Governor, which alleged tantamounts to treating them with disdain and disrespect which occurred during a meeting to settle a chieftaincy dispute.
The Ikole Ekiti High Chiefs; Sayo Okunola, (Olotin), Tunde Ogunleye (Aremo), Olu Ogunsakin (Asolo) and M. Okunola (Sajowa) said it was quite displeasing that the Deputy Governor could insult them so openly.
High Chief Tunde Ogunleye, who spoke on behalf of the chiefs said; “We frown at the treatment melted on us (Ikole-Ekiti High Chiefs) by the Deputy Governor, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi, on 16th August, 2022.
“The deputy governor had invited some High Chiefs from Ikole-Ekiti over a chieftaincy dispute and we honoured the invitation.
Expressing displeasure over the development, the High Chief said, “it was quite displeasing how the Deputy Governor could not accord any courtesy to us and worst still, melted insults on us, including a 93-year old man who was with us.
According to him, “if the chiefs could be peace loving enough to honour the deputy governor’s invitation to a supposed heart-to-heart talk, courtesy demands that the deputy governor reciprocates such respect.
“He consistently shouted at us in the middle of the discussion and just because of a minor disagreement, he walked out on us.
“It is highly disappointing that a man elected to serve the people of Ekiti State could walk out on representatives of the Elekole and the entire people of Ikole Ekiti.
“This is distasteful and the height of insults not only to the chiefs present but to the Elekole-in-council that we represented, and we hereby demand unreserved apology and an assurance that such will not repeat itself.”
The whole saga was said to have begun between the late Eleishe Olusola Olayode and Alamo of Ilamo Oba Paul Awoseyila shortly after the later got autonomy in year 2003.
Report has it that It started with Alamo trying to claim the entire Ulara land and Ojuju rock where Every Elekole is usually installed by Eleishe of Ulara.
The then Eleishe Olusola repelled the Alamo and it resulted into a legal battle during which the Eleishe Olusola was kidnapped for 3 days and Alamo was fingered by all indications.
The Eleishe Olayode died shortly after his release from the kidnappers den. The people of Ulara selected and installed (Olanipekun Alaba Ezekiel) as the new Eleishe Ulara Ikole after due consultation with the Elekole-In-Council.
Oba Alamo Awoseyila tried to continue his claim of ownership of Ulara Land and Ojuju rock by renewing the old litigation but lost the legal battle both at the lower court and appeal court. His claims were dismissed.
Alamo’s spurious claims were stated as follows:
(1) That Oba Adetunla Adeleye ceded Eleishe, the people of Ulara, Ancient Ojuju Rock and Land to him without recourse to the Eleishe and innocent people of Ulara. (2) That Eleishe has since become a chief and subject to Alamo. (3) That he now has the authority and control over Eleishe’s chieftaincy and traditions like Ojuju festival and the rest.
These inherited tussles have created serious upheavals between the Oba Alamo and the present Eleishe Olanipekun till this moment. Having lost in different ways to illegally take over Ulara Land, the Alamo made another gesture by trying to install a parallel Eleishe in the person of Olajire who agreed to surrender Ulara Land to Alamo for his personal interest.
Alamo has been leveraging on a fraudulent gazette which was done for him by the then Deputy Governor Alabi his in-law from Ijesa Isu. The Eleishe and people of Ulara were never privy to any secret gazette until the legal battle began between Alamo and Ulara. Neither is there any referendum whatsoever by the people of Ilamo and Ulara to be merged as one.
The Eleishe and Ulara could not have been ceded by anyone as always claimed by Alamo. There’s nothing whatsoever to show that the late Elekole Oba Adetunla Adeleye truly ceded Eleishe and Ulara to anyone. Eleishe and Ulara have always claimed to be integral part of Ikole with very significant traditional roles to play in the final installation rites of any Elekole.
The people of Ulara wrote a petition to the Deputy Governor reporting Oba Alamo’s nefarious activities by installing and mandating a parallel Eleishe to parade himself as another Eleishe. The two parties, Eleishe of Ulara and Alamo of Ilamo were invited for resolution. There and then, the Alamo resulted to his usual claims of supremacy over Eleishe’s chieftaincy. But Eleishe rebuffed his claim by positing to be Eleishe of Ulara-Ikole and not of Ilamo. Alamo stated that the Elekole-In-Council under Oba Adetunla Adeleye ceded Eleishe and Ulara Land to him when he became autonomous Oba in 2003.
The Deputy Governor therefore ordered that the Elekole-In-Council should be invited to testify to Alamo’s claims. The Council Chairman was also invited to come up with payment vouchers to ascertain where Eleishe draws salary as a tittle holder. The Elekole-In-Council was led by High Chief Olotin of Ikole ( Sayo Okunola ), with High Chief Olu Ogunsakin (The Asolo), High Chief Okunola ( The Sajowa) and High Chief Tunde Ogunleye (The Aremo).
The Olotin as the most ranking Chief of Ikole was to start his presentation by dismissing Alamo’s claims that Eleishe and Ulara people were ceded to Alamo but was abruptly shot down by the Deputy Governor. High Chief Matthew Okunola the Sajowa of Ikole, a 93-year old man who had served under three Elekokes got up to maintain that Alamo’s claims were not known to any Elekole or Elekole-In-Council, but was equally shot down by the Deputy Governor.
The same thing was done to both High chief Aremo Tunde Ogunleye and Asolo Olu Ogunsakin. The same Deputy Governor who invited all the Ikole Chiefs and the Executive Chairman to appear before his panel of enquires with documentary evidences did not allow the same documents he requested for to be tendered. Even the Local Government Chairman Hon. Sola Olominu with documents requested by the Deputy Governor was never referred to. The Deputy Governor insulted the entire Ikole Chiefs with several unprintable names. While the Elekole-In-Council were still trying to pacify his anger and make him listen to their evidences and go through the documents he requested for, he furiously got up from his sit and walked out on everyone in the meeting with absolute arrogance like a small god.
When contacted, the former SA Media to the Deputy Governor, Mr. Odunayo Ogunmola, who was also there at the meeting, debunked the allegations saying that the Deputy Governor did not shout on them or walked out on them.
According to him, “What actually happened was that they wanted the Deputy Governor to endorse an illegality which an Ekiti State High Court had delivered a judgment which did not favour the Eleese of Ilara Quarters in Ilamo Ekiti, Chief Alaba Ezekiel Olanipekun.
“The judgment of the court says that Olanipekun is a chief and a kingmaker in Ilamo Ekiti and he is under the Alamo of Ilamo Ekiti, Oba Adebayo Awoseyila.
The judgment was delivered by Justice Lekan Ogunmoye of the Ekiti State High Court with Oba Awoseyila as the Claimant while Olanipekun is the 2nd Defendant.”
Mr. Ogunmola further explained that the court said that evidence before it was that Olanipekun as the Eleese of Ilara Quarters in Ilamo Ekiti is one of the six kingmakers in Ilamo and in fact, he is the head of the kingmakers.
“The judgment was not appealed against so it remains binding. The Deputy Governor said that as a lawyer of over 40 years experience, he cannot go against the law and that it was also in line with the Ilamo Ekiti Chieftaincy Declaration as contained in Chiefs Edict No 11 of 1984.
“The Eleese, Chief Olanipekun, had earlier reported the Alamo, Oba Awoseyila, to the Deputy Governor’s office sometimes last year (2021) claiming that the Oba wanted to remove him and that another Eleese had been appointed in his place.
“The Deputy Governor then insisted that the Oba lacked the power to remove any chief including the Eleese without due process, consent and approval of the state government maintaining that the only Eleese recognized by the State government was Chief Olanipekun who praised the State government for giving him justice and stopped the monarch from summarily removing him from his position.
Recounting, “sometime last week, the stakeholders came again to the Deputy Governor’s office following the Eleese’s latest claim that he is no longer a chief under the Alamo, that he is now a chief under the Osolo in Ikole. The stakeholders were then given Tuesday, 16th August to return to the Deputy Governor’s office with evidence that could substantiate their claim.
“The Eleese came with Ikole chiefs who supported his claim that he is now a chief in Ikole but they never brought any concrete evidence to back up their claim.But the Alamo of Ilamo Ekiti, Oba Adebayo Awoseyila, brought a copy of the court judgment and other documentary evidence and pictorial evidence including the photographs of him installing Olanipekun as the Eleese with the “akoko” leaves on Olanipekun’s head.
“The Deputy Governor said since the Eleese applied for autonomy for his Ilara Quarters and the autonomy was not granted, he still remains a chief under the Alamo. The Deputy Governor also added that the court judgment which held that there are incontrovertible evidence before the court to prove that the Eleese is a chief, a quarter head and a kingmaker under Ilamo Ekiti under the leadership of the Alamo of Ilamo Ekiti, the state government would not be lured into going against a valid judgement delivered by a court of competent jurisdiction which has not been set aside or upturned by any higher court”. Ogunmola explained.
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