Deputy governor denies having preferred candidate
The Araromi-Ekiti community in Ijero Local Council of Ekiti State, yesterday, appealed to Governor Biodun Oyebanji to caution his deputy, Monisola Afuye, and the state’s Commissioner for Chieftaincy Affairs, Olaiya Atibioke, over alleged subterranean plot to impose a monarch on the community.
Sunday Babalola Adeniji, who led some leaders of the community during a media briefing in Ado-Ekiti, said the governor should wade into the matter by “helping us to call on the deputy governor and the commissioner to steer clear of the selection process of the next monarch of Araromi-Ekiti for the sake of peace.”
According to Adeniji, “We learnt that the deputy governor has instructed the kingmakers to come up with the name of Babatunde Babalola Adebomi and append their signatures on it, but the kingmakers refused, claiming that selecting just anybody without going through the normal processes is never the tradition of the community.
“The four of us contesting the vacant position are actually from the Odimulele Ruling House in which no one can be said not to be qualified for the position but since the four of us are contesting for only one position which cannot be occupied by the four of us at the same time, the kingmakers began the selection process as expected to be done.
“But funny enough, one person out of the four of us is trying to circumvent the normal process, trying all things possible to be enthroned as the next monarch.
“If things are done the right way, there will be an atmosphere of peace in the community throughout the reign of a king. Unlike the political post that you would have known exactly when to vacate the very day you are sworn in.
“But because of financial gains, some people are now consulting fake oracles, forgetting that the post of a king is completely different from that of political as a king usually rules for a lifetime.”
“That’s why we are appealing to the peace-loving governor of the state, Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, to wade into the matter by helping us to call on the deputy governor and the commissioner to steer clear of the selection process of the next king of Araromi-Ekiti for the sake of peace.”
MEANWHILE, in her reaction, Afuye said that the allegation was the figment of imagination of the purveyors of the story, saying that the government of Oyebanji stands for justice and fair play.
Afuye, who spoke through her media aide, Victor Ogunje, added that she and the commissioner never meddled or interfered in the kingship race, saying:
“Since the advent of the selection process, the government has stoutly maintained neutrality and set a pace for hitch-free selection being undertaken by the kingmakers and other interested ruling houses.”
