Oluoke Stool: Kuole Oloje Ruling House Protests Illegal Move to Impose Oba on Okeigbo Kingdom
BY Dupson Collins, 31st October, 2023
The Concerned Youth from Kuole Oloje Ruling House, the next house to present a suitable candidate for the vacant stool of Oluoke of Okeigbo Kingdom on Tuesday, 31st October, 2023 staged a peaceful protest at the Ondo State Ministry of Local Government & Chieftaincy Affairs.
The group displaying placards with different inscriptions were calling on the Ondo State government as matter of urgency to stop imposition of Oba on Okeigbo kingdom.
The chairman, Dare Ojetayo who noted that Oluoke stool is on rotational basis said the last occupant of the throne was from Aare Kugbayigbe, meaning, it is the turn of KUOLE OLOJE RULING HOUSE to produce the next Oba.
According to him, the group is aware of clandestine moves by some people in government working in cahoots with members of the Kugbayigbe Ruling House to impose a candidate based on the justification of a high Court judgement which has been appealed against.
The group however use the opportunity to frown at any attempt to foist anyone on the throne saying it remains subjudice and illegal.
“Are Kugbayigbe cannot reign twice thus depriving our Ruling House, Kuole Oloje, our inalienable right to occupy the throne at this auspicious time. We want to appeal to you sir, not to allow these people throw Okeigbo kingdom into another round of crisis, the magnitude of which no one can predict.
“No Ruling House has occupied the throne.twice in succession in the history of Okeigbo”, he added saying the Kugbayigbe people wants to eat their cake and have it”, he further stressed saying as law-abiding citizens, the people want peace to be maintained in their homestead, Okeigbo.
He also used the opportunity to implore the State Commissioner in the Ministry to use his good office to prevail on the Are Kugbayigbe people to embrace peace and desist from the evil plot of imposing anyone on the community as king.
Responding, the State Commissioner for Local Government Chieftaincy & Affairs, Alhaji Amidu Takuro while assuring the group that the state government is interested in the matter, admonished them to come together under a united umbrella and sort out the issues amicably in order to avoid a situation whereby the community remains without a head or the ministry is forced to follow court judgment.
The Commissioner further added that Ondo State Government wouldn’t installed king outside what the kingmaker presented to the government, saying Arakunrin Akeredolu will continue to prioritize fairness and transparency on any Obaship tussle in the state.
His Words: ” We believe in due process and follow the Chieftaincy Declaration to the letter; what we are after in this ministry is peace and harmony in every community of Ondo State, atime we settle a lot of cases outside Court”.
