August 15, (THEWILL) – Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State is set to strip some chiefs of their titles over gross misconduct and abuse of their chieftaincy titles.
The Petu of Oketoro, Chief Bayo Akerele, Chief Simon Esan, the Odofinyin and some other quarter heads in some communities in Iyin Ekiti were accused of parading themselves as traditional rulers in the state. They went as far as putting the inscription of “palace” in their homes, thereby igniting a crisis and division in the town.
It was gathered that the chiefs were not willing to subject themselves to the authority of the new king, Oba Adeola Adeniyi Ajakaiye, who is the traditional ruler of Iyin Ekiti in Ekiti State.
Ajakaiye was chosen by the kingmakers after scoring the highest votes among the eight contestants that signified interest in the traditional stool in 2020. He was later appointed by the Ekiti State Government and crowned. However, a few months after his coronation, the quarter heads started parading themselves as kings, too. The Deputy Governor of Ekiti, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, who represented the governor, held a meeting with the quarter chiefs and gave them a seven-day ultimatum to clean the inscription and stop parading themselves as Obas or else they would face the consequences of violating the Ekiti State Chieftaincy Law.
Egbeyemi advised them to request autonomy from the government instead of taking the law into their hands. The affected chiefs, however, denied the allegations and revealed that the crisis of being mistaken as Obas was inherited when they were appointed as chiefs and not an act of insubordination from their part.
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