The Ondo State Government has formally restored the Onifira Oke of Oke-Ifira Chieftaincy in Akoko South-East Local Government Area, 67 years after the death of the last statutory occupant of the stool.

The last Onifira Oke died in 1959. The chieftaincy, which enjoyed first-class status comparable to that of the Onisua of Isua and the Olupesi of Ipesi-Akoko, was backed by multiple Chieftaincy Declarations issued by the then Western Region of Nigeria.

These instruments, according to the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Kayode Ajulo SAN, were signed by the Commissioner for Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Dauda Adegbenro, who at various times also acted as Premier of the Western Region.

However, due to alleged sabotage, all original edicts, appointment instruments, and related documents vanished from local government files and archives.

He said only the statutory instruments preserved at the Western Region headquarters in Ibadan remained intact, saying successive efforts by the Oke-Ifira community to reverse the anomaly consistently hit brick walls.

Also, he said, when the Ajama Chieftaincy Review Panel was constituted, the community made a formal presentation. However, he said the position was disallowed on technical grounds that the matter was already before the courts, and the community was advised to await the judicial outcome.

The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Amidu Takuro, who announced the recognition on Tuesday, said that after several presentations and a thorough quest for justice, the state government has now done what is right and just by restoring the Onifira Oke Chieftaincy to its rightful place.

The recognition of the Onifira Oke Chieftaincy formed part of a broader package of traditional institution decisions taken at the first Executive Council meeting of the year, presided over by Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa.

Other chieftaincy approvals included the appointment of Prince Olugbenga Adewole Aluko as the new Olojoda of Oda in Akure South Local Government Area, the upgrading of the Owa-Adimula of Oke-Oro Chieftaincy in Akoko North-West Local Government Area to Grade C status, and the appointment of four warrant chiefs for the installation of a new Olufira of Ifira.

Others included the appointment of Prince Jackson Akinson Okorisa as the new Olu of Jinrinwo in Ilaje Local Government Area, the appointment of Prince Simeon Oyeleye Obaniyi as the new Olukakumo in Akoko North-East Local Government Area, the appointment of Prince Ayodele Akinnadeju as the new Aladeokun of Alade Idanre, and the recognition of Ugbagbe of Oroto as Sepeluwa of Oroto in Ilaje Local Government Area to Grade C status.

Apart from the chieftaincy declarations, the state government also approved a major expansion of healthcare infrastructure across the state. The Commissioner for Health, Dr Banji Ajaka, disclosed that the government has approved the construction of new hospital buildings with a cumulative capacity of 500 beds.