Subjects Chase Monarch Out Of Palace In Ekiti
The people Odo Ora, in Ido/Osi Local Government Area have ejected their traditional ruler, Oba Samuel Akinola Adeyemo, out of the palace.
The kingmakers and other community leaders alleged that the procedure that produced the monarch was faulty and was not formally installed as the king.
Oba Adeyemo, who is the Obalemo of Odo Ora, who ran to the state government for intervention said he was locked out of the palace by suspected hoodlums allegedly mobilized by some interest groups in the community.
The traditional ruler who sent a Save My Soul petition to the state government on the crisis also revealed that palm fronds were tied at the gate of the palace to prevent him from occupying the building.
The Deputy Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, during a peace meeting held in his office on Wednesday condemned the violence that recently rocked the community, warning that the full weight of the law would be visited on individuals fomenting trouble in Odo Ora.
A statement by his Special Assistant (Media) to the Deputy Governor, Odunayo Ogunmola, said the government had to summon the peace meeting following intelligence report from security agencies on possible outbreak of violence over the kingship crisis.
Egbeyemi who warned stakeholders in Odo Ora to maintain peace stressed that government won’t depose any monarch in the state urging those aggrieved with the emergence of Oba Adeyemo as the Obalemo to seek redress in the court of law.
The deputy governor further stressed that government would not fold its arms and allow the situation to degenerate into anarchy adding that anybody caught fomenting trouble would be arrested and prosecuted.
He said: “Security report revealed that there is likely to be outbreak of violence in Odo Ora. I don’t want anybody to disturb or attack Kabiyesi.
“If there is outbreak of violence, all culprits will be arrested and prosecuted. Let there be peace in your community.”
One of the community leaders, Prof. Olawumi Ajaja, said Odo Ora indigenes had nothing against the person of the embattled monarch but against the process that produced him.
Ajaja, former Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, said the locals still see the monarch as an Oba-elect alleging that traditional rites were yet to be performed.
The deputy governor urged parties in the crisis to report back in his office on February 21 for a follow-up peace parley in a bid to resolve the impasse.
