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| Osun State governor, Adegboyega Oyetola (Photo Credit: @GboyegaOyetola) |
Raphael Ademola has been elected as the new 16th Aree of Iree in the town of Iree, and kingmakers in the Boripe local government area of Osun have asked the state government to reevaluate the procedure.
One of the kingmakers, the Aogun of Iree, Saliu Atoyebi, spoke to the media in Osogbo on behalf of the Aree-in-Council and stated that they did not approve the procedure that resulted in the new traditional ruler.
Mr. Atoyebi said that Bayo Adeleke, the local government and chieftaincy affairs commissioner, had imposed his own choice.
The Aree-in-Council, he claimed, were not permitted to participate in the selection of the town's new traditional leader.
“They have not elected any king in Iree as far as we are concerned. What they should do is bring the contestants who are princes to us (kingmakers) from the four ruling houses for us to consult the oracle,” he alleged. “All these were not done. What they claimed they did was not the proper process by which the Aree of Iree would emerge.”
When contacted, Mr Adeleke said the kingmakers abdicated their duties.
The commissioner claimed that three meetings were called for kingmakers to elect a new traditional ruler, and they refused to turn up on those occasions.
He added that due process was followed in appointing the new ruler.
The Osun government had, on November 4, appointed Mr Ademola as the 16th Aree of Iree in Osun after warrant chiefs elected him.
He succeeded Oba Jimoh Olayonu, who died on July 8, 2018.
(NAN)