THE Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji, has again raised objection to the review of 1957 Olubadan chieftaincy declaration saying he would never support the move.

In his reaction to the recommendation that 32 beaded-crown wearing kings be recognised in his domain, he said the review being midwived by Governor Abiola Ajimobi was nothing but a “joke carried too far”.

Speaking through his Director of Media, Mr Adeola Oloko, Olubadan expressed his displeasure at the comments by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Mr. Bimbo Kolade, on a private radio station.

The Oba said his opposition to the chieftaincy review embarked upon by the State Government stands. According to the monarch, the erroneous impression in that interview was that Kabiyesi had at one time opposed the chieftaincy review before he later changed his mind to support it. This, he said, was far from the truth.

Olubadan said; “For the avoidance of doubt, there was never a time that Olubadan supported the review. This was why the first class monarch did not submit any memorandum nor make any presentation to the panel.

“When last week the panel submitted its report to the State Governor, the public would vividly remember that Olubadan was not in the picture at all, because he was not invited. Both the young and old in Ibadan know that the Ibadan chieftaincy system is not a creation of the government. It is a creation of Ibadan people. No king, no governor, no elite, no High Chief has the right to tamper with the system without recourse to our people. How many town hall meetings has the state government convened before arriving at the conclusion that Ibadan deserves 32 crowns?”

“To show ignorance of our tradition, the panel lumped our highly respected High Chiefs with baales who are always nominated by the family Mogajis. Secondly, if the traditional institution wants a review, it is not the duty of government to spearhead the review. It is the duty of the Olubadan sitting in council to sit down and look at what they want to review and register same to the State Government for approval.

In Ile-Ife, where the Commissioner mentioned in the interview, this is the tradition. The Osun State Government did not spearhead the review. In Lagos and Ogun States, the case is similar.