SOLA ADEYEMO writes on the political battle in Oyo State between Governor Seyi Makinde and the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rasidi Ladoja, over endorsement of candidates for the forthcoming governorship election in the state
Until the last Ramadan period, the political atmosphere within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State had been clement as many gubernatorial aspirants were peacefully jostling to showcase themselves in preparation for the state congress where a candidate would emerge to slug it out with any candidate the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Governor Seyi Makinde will produce.
The aura, however, changed after President Bola Tinubu met with stakeholders from the state in his Lagos Bourdillon residence, following reports that one of the aspirants and a serving senator, Sarafadeen Alli (Oyo South senatorial district), was endorsed to fly the party’s flag in the 2027 gubernatorial contest.
The informal disclosure ruffled the political atmosphere of the party as other aspirants began to grumble, saying that there was never an agreement on a consensus candidate. Prior to the meeting, the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rasidi Ladoja, had met with the President at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, with rumours having it that he seized the opportunity of the visit to advocate for Alli to be chosen as the APC flag bearer.
It would be recalled that Ladoja and Tinubu belonged to the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), a pro-democracy group that challenge the military regime of General Sani Abacha and return to democratic rule, which was achieved in 1999. Aside this, Tinubu as the then Lagos state governor was the one that sheltered Ladoja in 2005, when he was illegally impeached by some members of the Oyo State House Assemble believed to have the backing of then President Olusegun Obasanjo. Ladoja sought protection in Tinubu’s residence till he won at the Supreme Court and was reinstated in 2006 after 11 months that the impeachment lasted.
But until the reported demand for Ali’s endorsement, the relationship between Ladoja and Governor Makinde was unquestionable. Though there had been some simmering negative undercurrents between the duo with regard to some government policies, the antecedent of Ladoja’s superintending the mutual choice of Makinde as the PDP candidate in 2018, among other aspirants, who were persuaded to step down, continued to sustain the friendship.
When Makinde got the wind of Ladoja’s intervention and preference for Alli being his Secretary to the State Government (SSG) then, and the fear that his own choice might be defeated by the APC, scheming started to outwit the opposition party. Survival of the fittest became the order of the day between the governor and the Olubadan. To frustrate Ladoja’s plan of ensuring Alli’s endorsement, Makinde used the instrumentality of crowning Alli as an Oba, a step he believed would disqualify him from contesting governorship.
As an Eekarun Balogun of Ibadanland and a High Chief, the amended Oyo State Chiefs Law requires him to be ceremonially crowned, and quit active partisan politics. Ladoja, on his part, had been forced to take the crown as a precondition for him to be installed as Olubadan. In order not to single Alli out as the only high chief to be crowned, Makinde chose two others who were already qualified for the elevation.
They are Chief Kola Babalola (SAN) who is the Ekaarun Olubadan and High Chief Akeem Bolaji Adewoyin (Ekerin Balogun). Against the trio’s formal excuses of inability to attend the April 3, coronation at the ancient Mapo Hall, Ibadan Makinde went on to pronounce them as Obas in absentia. According to the deputy governor, Adebayo Lawal, who stood in for his boss at the event, it was legally immaterial for a qualified High Chief to be present during the presentation of certificate and staff of office, as they could be pronounced in absentia.
“We are not merely gathered to witness a ceremonial rite; we are here to affirm a system that has for generations provided structure, order, and identity to Ibadanland. The conferment of beaded crowns reflects a tradition that continues to evolve while preserving its core values,” the deputy governor said. He noted that the exercise was backed by the Chiefs Law of Oyo State, which empowers the governor to confer crowns on elevated high chiefs. “This step has become necessary to avoid creating a vacuum or distorting the well-structured arrangement of the Ibadan traditional system,” he added.
To heat up the game further, Oba Ladoja, refused to attend the coronation, while the Olubadan-in-Council led by Oba Tajudeen Ajibola, represented him at the event. However, the Oyo State political landscape was awash with criticisms on why the governor refused to postpone the coronation since the beneficiaries gave reasons why they would not be in present on the scheduled day. To many pundits, the action was intended to disqualify Senator Alli at all cost.
A senior advocate of Nigeria, Chief Adeniyi Akintola, who is an indigene of Ibadan, even justified Makinde’s action, saying that during the reign of late Oba Samuel Odugade’s reign, he banned the famous Chief Lamidi Adedibu from partisan politics once he became the Ashipa Olubadan of Ibadanland.
According to Akintola, all the who is who in Ibadan, who were in attendance at the Monatan Palace of the monarch endorsed it that any traditional title holder who had become a High Chief, must cease from participating in active partisan politics. To that effect, with the pronouncement of Alli as a crown-wearing Oba, he had automatically been barred from further participating in active politics.
He should immediately have renounced his position and his seat declared vacant. To another lawyer, the law of the federation says that you cannot be an Oba and still be collecting salary as a senator. You are a public servant and so cannot be performing the role of an Oba and still be performing public functions as a senator.
Some other lawyers however argued that the amended Oyo State chieftaincy law cannot override the constitution which is the grundnum of the nation’s law. According to them, any other law that is inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution by the effect of its inconsistency remains null and void and of no effect, whatsoever. They also posited that if the 1999 Constitution does not bar any traditional title holder from aspiring to the Senate, no Oyo State law can override it.
To give effect to this, Senator Alli, who insists on contesting the election, last Friday, declared his ambition formally. Interestingly, the current face-off has been aggravated by series of allegations flying around that some politicians in the state are angling to impeach Makinde, while others say that Makinde is on the other hand planning to dethrone Ladoja as Olubadan.
The member representing Atiba State constituency in the Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. Gbenga Oyekola (Chief Whip) recently alleged that the Olubadan invited the Speaker of the Assembly, Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin, to his residence and urged him to step down for Alli. He alleged that the monarch offered him a huge amount of money.
He also alleged that Amb. Florence Ajimobi (wife of late former Governor Abiola Ajimobi), also invited the speaker to her Lagos residence, urging him not to run. Oyekola further alleged that the Olubadan and Ajimobi are undermining Governor Makinde and his choice for 2027.
While the speaker denied the allegation of inducement, a former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, added another dimension to the scenario, following his claim that Governor Makinde was planning to dethrone the Oba Ladoja for failing to attend the coronation. The governor and the monarch, however, denied the allegations, describing them as unfounded. Fayose, who was at the Olubadan’s palace last Tuesday told journalists that he has a privileged information that Makinde is preparing to query Oba Ladoja for not attend the Alli’s coronation.
The Olubadan, on his part, thanked Fayose for alerting the palace to the allegation. As the clock ticks to the election, whether Makinde or the Oyo State government go to court to stop Alli from contesting or not, and whether Ladoja and some powers-that-be in the state in collaboration with President Tinubu will effect the impeachment of the governor before he strikes, remain in the realm of conjecture pending when the die is cast.
