Fight Breaks Out At Osun Monarchs’ Meeting Over Chairman Position

The monthly meeting of the Osun State Council of Traditional Rulers was on Thursday postponed indefinitely due to a fight  which broke out over the position of the chairman of the council.

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Our correspondent gathered that the fight started when the advance team of the Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi brought his special chair to the front for the meeting and they were allegedly resisted by the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran.

Sources told our correspondent that Oba Aromolaran said the chair could not be positioned at that place and that his (Aromolaran) seat should be at the front.

Ooni’s ‘Emeses’ (messengers) were said to have told Oba Aromolaran that they were sent by the monarch to put the chair at that place. The struggle to prevent the chair from occupying the vantage position of the chairman was said to have resulted in the stripping of one of the messengers.

It was gathered that Governor Rauf Aregbesola had been briefed about the incident and the monarchs were summoned to the Government House for a meeting to resolve the crisis.

The spokesperson for the Ooni’s Palace, Mr. Moses Olafare, when contacted said it was incontrovertible  that the Ooni remained the permanent chairman of the council.

He said, “Ooni will not want to be drawn into what happened. But he (Ooni) remained the permanent chairman according to the law.”

Oba Aromolaran had last year at one of the meetings said he was unanimously elected the substantive chairman of the council. He said he was nominated by the Ataoja of Osogbo and other monarchs supported the nomination.

However, Oba Aromolaran introduced himself as the vice chairman of the council at the December  2015 meeting which was the maiden meeting attended by the Ooni after his inauguration.

Source: ThePunch