Olubadan stool : Ladoja breaks silence, says Balogun is next in line of succession

Affirms there was no controversy about the Olubadan succession gazette

Former governor of Oyo State and the Osi Olubadan of Ibadan land, Senator Rasheed Ladoja, has said the Otun Olubadan, Senator Lekan Balogun, is the next in line to ascend the throne of Olubadan.

The stool became vacant following the death of Oba Saliu Adetunji on Sunday.

Ladoja spoke on Thursday when the senator representing Oyo Central, Teslim Folarin, led a delegation to pay a condolence visit to him on the death of Oba Adetunji.

He said there was no controversy about the next Olubadan as the next person in the civil line, Otun Olubadan, remained the next in line to the throne.

Ladoja was on Wednesday absent when 10 out of the 11 members of the Olubadan-in-Council endorsed Balogun as the next Olubadan.

His absence was interpreted in some quarters to mean that he was against the decision of the other council members.

But Ladoja said, “Uninformed people are just causing unnecessary tension in Ibadan. There is no controversy about who becomes the next Olubadan after the demise of Oba Saliu Adetunji Aje Ogunguniso 1.

“There is no controversy about it. Egbon Lekan Balogun is the most senior in our line and so he is the next in line to the throne.

“For those asking, my ‘body and mouth language’ is that Egbon Lekan is my senior and he is next in line to the Olubadan stool.

“I do not have the powers to make anybody Olubadan. In 2017, we instituted a case to challenge the needless reform that Abiola Ajimobi as governor wanted to do. Almost all of us as High Chiefs and members of the Olubadan-in-Council agreed to the filing of a suit to challenge him and we gave the task to Michael Lana.

“Lana later called me to say some of the High Chiefs told him to remove their names from the suit, leaving only my Egbon, Balogun and myself.

“Two weeks after we started the case, Egbon Balogun said he was no longer interested in the case. I asked Lana if I could do it alone and he said yes and we continued.

“We won the case at the state High Court and Ajimobi went to appeal the judgment. In its judgment, the Appeal Court, a few days to the exit of Ajimobi from government, sent the case back to the High Court for retrial. The judges of the Appellate Court said the case was brought under writ of summons instead of originating summons.

“By the time, there had been a new government headed by Seyi Makinde who said he did not want the distraction of the suit and called for an out-of-court settlement which we agreed to and did.

“After the terms of settlement were agreed to, the court gave a consent judgment based on the terms. But they said they were not happy and instituted two fresh cases which are still in court till today.”

Ladoja added, “So, I need people to understand that I am not causing any trouble. The cases that are in court today in respect of the Obaship tussle were instituted by Egbon Balogun and his colleagues who are still calling themselves Obas.

“They are the ones that the people should talk to. Let them go and withdraw the cases they instituted. I don’t like the unwarranted tension this matter is generating.”

Lana had said that since Balogun had been elevated to an Oba by the administration of Abiola Ajimobi, it would be an aberration to make him wear the second crown by making him the new Olubadan.

He said the governor should withhold his approval until the affected High Chiefs withdraw the case they have in court on their elevation to crown-wearing obas.

Meanwhile, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Thursday, visited the palace of the late Oba Adetunji to commiserate with the family.

Obasanjo was received at the Popoyemoja Palace by the Gbonka Balogun, Chief Nureni Akanbi, and the deceased’s widow.

The former President was said to have also visited the palace of Soun of Ogbomoso where he paid condolence visit to the family of Oba Oladunni Oyewumi, who died on December 12 at the age of 95.

Obasanjo was accompanied to the palace by a former Secretary to Oyo State Government, Olayiwola Olakojo; and Chief Oyewole Fasawe.

He paid glowing tribute to the late monarch and said he also prayed to enjoy the grace of longevity which Oba Oyewumi enjoyed.