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B’Olubadan Ba Ku Tani O Joye? Who is the Next King, If Olubadan Passes On?

Published

2 years ago

January 10, 2022

Eric

By Hon Femi Kehinde

This is Nigerian Broadcasting service – (B’olu badan ba ku ta ni o joye?) (who is the next king, if the Olubadan passes on); ojogede dudu inun takun (he eats an unripe plantain and suffers stomach discomfort); ko so ni gbese ni bi lo si le keji (there is no debtor here, go to the next house) and Eko je Ibadan lowo 130 (Lagos owes Ibadan 130 thousand pounds)” was the signature tune of the Radio Nigeria Broadcasting Service. This signature tune was the drumming ingenuity and creativity, since 1956, of no other person, than the drummer king, Oba John Adetoyese Laoye 1, Timi of Ede (December 1946 –May 16 1975). Radio services in the Western Region of Nigeria had been popularised by the Government of Obafemi Awolowo in 1955, when he brought redifussion boxes, for the listening pleasure, of the people of the Western Region. It was a repeater one channel radio broadcast signals which brought news, commentaries and general enter tainment programmes, for a paltry sum of five shillings at the end of every month, to every subscriber.

In displaying his drumming dexterity, Oba Timi, Adetoyese Laoye, never knew perhaps, that a day will come, when there would be succession brouhaha, after the demise of an Olubadan, sparkling off a succession crisis.
The Olubadan stool, has been the most fascinating royal succession, without rancour, in producing 41 Olubadans, since Ibadan came into being.

The establishment of Ibadan as a municipal, and then a regional power, began with the role of Bashorun Oluyole about the year 1836. This remarkably gifted warrior, led several successful military campaigns, among which was the final route of the Fulani army in Osogbo in 1840.

Olubadan title had been rotated interchangeably since then, between the Olubadan line (civil line) with 22 rungs of the ladder and the Balogun (military line) with 23 rungs of the ladder.

The ingenuity of these amazing creation, without rancour and Ruling houses, was so fascinating to the first Ibadan British Resident- Captain Roberts Lister Bower- (1893-1902), who as Ibadan’s first Ajele, commended these spectacular succession process and reported to the British authority of, and the need to recommend this model to other traditional cities in the Yoruba nation. The popular Bower’s tower, was erected in his honour, in December 1936, during the reign of Olubadan Abass Okunola Aleshinloye- (1930-1946.)
Bower’s successors, Captain Fuller (1897-1902), Captain W.A Ross, (1913 to 1931) and Captain Ward Price that succeeded him in 1931, all applauded these ingenious succession process of crowning Olubadan.
Ibadan from its early history has always been circumstantial and cosmopolitan.
It is undisputable that Ibadan has grown to become then, the third most populous city in Nigeria. As a matter of fact, it was hitherto, the most cosmopolitan city in Africa.

From ancient myth, comes a more striking account of Ibadan’s stupendous growth.
It is settled history that Lagelu, the Yoruba warlord and generalissimo was its founder around 1829. Lagelu upon his arrival in Ibadan, from Ile-Ife, had summoned a babalawo (Ifa Priest), about the future of Ibadan. Myth further added, that at the throwing of “Opele” – the sacred nuts, the Ifa priest called for a sacrifice of, amoung other items, 200 snails. When the snails were brought, the priest scattered them in various directions, saying- “creep on as far as you can and that is as far, as this town would also grow”! The snails according to the myth, travelled far and wide, in multiple directions and that is why Ibadan has been expanding ever since. Lagelu’s 200 snails have not stopped their crawling!

Ibadan is large. The promotional structure of Ibadan’s chieftaincy lineage is as follows:

EGBE AGBA EGBE BALOGUN
CIVIL LINE MILITARY LINE

1. OTUN OLUBADAN BALOGUN
2. OSI OLUBADAN OTUN BALOGUN
3. ASIPA OSI BALOGUN
4. EKERIN OLUBADAN ASIPA BALOGUN
5. EKARUN OLUBADAN EKERIN BALOGUN
6. ABESE EKARUN BALOGUN
7. MAYE ABESE
8. EKEFA OLUBADAN MAYE
9. AGBAAKIN EKEFA
10. AARE ALASA AGBAAKIN
11. IKOLABA AARE ALAASA
12. ASAAJU IKOLABA
13. AYINGUN ASAAJU
14. AARE AGO AARE AGO
15. LAGUNNA LAGUNNA
16. OOTA OOTA
17. AARE EGBE OMO AARE EGBE OMO
18. GBOONKA GBOONKA
19. AARE ONIBON AARE ONIBON
20. BADA BADA
21. AJIA AJIA
22. JAGUN JAGUN

The beneficiaries of these ingenious Olubadan succession process, by climbing up succession ladders respectively, that is, 22 from Olubadan line and 23 from Balogun line, were:

S/N NAME AND TITLE PERIOD NO OF YRS OF REIGN

Lagelu C1820 N/A

2. Baale Maye 1820-1826 6

3. Baale Oluyedun 1826-1830 4

4. Baale Lakunle 1830-1835 5

5. Bashorun Oluyole 1835-1850 15

6. Baale Oderinlo 1850 1

7. Baale Olugbode 1851-1864 13

8. Baale Ibikunle 1864 1

9. Bashorun Ogunmola 1865-1867 2

10. Bale Akere 1 1867-1870 3

11. Bale Orowusi 1870-1871 1

12. Aare Latosa 1871-1885 14

13. Baale Oshungbekun 1885-1893 8

14. Baale Fijabi 1893-1895 2

15. Baale Oshuntoki 1895-1897 2

16. Baale Fajinmi 1897-1902 5

17. Baale Mosaderin 1902-1904 2

18. Baale Dada Opadare 1904-1907 3

19. Baale Sunmonu Apanpa 1907-1910 3

20. Baale Akintayo Elenpe 1910-1912 2

21. Baale Irefin 1912-1914 2

22. Baale Shittu 1914-1925 11

23. Baale Oyewole Foko 1925-1929 4

24.Olubadan Abasi Aleshinloye (1st to use the “Olubadan title”) 1930-1946 16 – longest reign so far

25. Olubadan Akere II 1946 1/3

26. Olubadan Oyetunde I 1946 1/12

27. Olubadan Bioku 1947-1948 1

28. Olubadan Fijabi II 1948-1952 4

29. Olubadan Alli Iwo 1952 ¼

30. Olubadan Apete 1952-1955 3

31. Olubadan Sir Isaac Babalola Akinyele 1955-1964 9

32. Olubadan Yesufu Kobiowu 1964 ½

33. Olubadan Salawu Aminu 1965-1971 6

34. Olubadan Shittu Oyetunde II 1971-1976 5

35. Olubadan Akanbi Adebimpe 1976-1977 1

36. Olubadan Daniel Akinbiyi 1977-1982 5

37. Olubadan Yesufu Asanike 1 1983-1993 10

38. Olubadan Adeyemo Operinde 1 1994-1999 5

39. Olubadan Yunusa Bankole Oladoja Ogundipe, Arapasowu 1 1999-2007 8

40. Olubadan Samuel Osundiran Odunlana, Odugade 1 2007-2016 9

41. Olubadan Saliu Adetunji Aje-Ogunguniso 4th March, 2016 till Jan 2, 2022

Oba Saliu Adetunji Aje-Ogunguniso I, ascended the throne of the Olubadn of Ibadan land on the 4th of March 2016 till the 2nd of January, 2022, when he bade the world farewell, at the University College Hospital and was buried the same day in accordance with Muslim rites.

He was born on the 25th of August, 1926. He had started life as a tailor and later established the Babalaje records in 1960. He was self trained and self taught. An Ibadan man, Senator Abiola Ajimobi was a governor, when he ascended the throne of the Olubadan of Ibadan land.

Uniquely, Ibadan Cheiftaincy stool rotation, respects the change of baton between the Olubadan and the Balogun line. Olubadan Oyewole Foko was Olubadan between 1925 and 1929 and was succeeded by Olubadan Aleshinloye, the longest standing Olubadan, who reigned between 1930 and 1946. Perhaps he had taken some slots out of his two successors- Olubadan- Akere and Olubadan Oyetunde, who both reigned briefly in 1946. In other words, in the year 1946, there were three Olubadans Alesinloye – Akere and Oyetunde.

Olubadan Bioku who succeeded Olubadan Oyetunde reigned briefly between 1947 and 1948. The year 1948 also had two Olubadans- Olubadan Bioku II, who reigned between 1948 and 1952. Briefly, Olubadan Ali Iwo, reigned in 1952, and was also succeeded by Olubadan Apete, who reigned till 1955. The great Ibadan Monarch, traditionalist, administrator and evangelist of the Christ Apostolic church- Oba Isaac Babalola Akinyele, reigned between 1955 and 1964. He was a non portfolio Minister in the Obafemi Awolowo Government, between 1955 and 1959 and was thickly involved in the Western Region Government crisis, through his mediatory efforts. He wrote the popular-“Iwe Itan Ibadan in 1911”. He reigned till 1964- and was succeeded by Oba Yusufu Kubiowu in July 1964-, a brief reign. Olubadan Kobiowu was the youngest reigning Olubadan as at the time of his ascension to the throne in July 1964. He came briefly and left briefly. He died in December, 1964.

Olubadan Salawu Akanni Aminu, succeded Kobiowu in 1965, he reigned in his Yemetu, Ibadan palace and died in 1971. He was succeeded by Olubadan Gbadamosi Akanbi Adebimbe who also reigned briefly, between 1976 and 1977., in his Eleta Palace.

The great Oba Daniel Tayo Akinbiyi, reigned between 1977 and 1982. D.T Akinbiyi was highly educated, having trained as a teacher, in the famous Wesley College, Elekuro, Ibadan, between 1916 and 1918. He was also involved in Ibadan local politics in 1925 and was a founding member of the Ibadan Progressive Union (IPU), that was formally inaugurated in 1930.Daniel Tayo Akinbiyi was a Customary Court judge and he was a Judge that almost jailed Adegoke Adelabu, who was arrested for contempt, for drumming right in front of the court room, while the court was in session. D.T Akinbiyi was an Action Group apologist, while Adegoke Adelabu was a strong NCNC Party Chieftain.

D.T was a successful business man and had a flourishing factory that produced Aerated waters named “Akinbiyi Exelsoir” otherwise known as “Oti Akinbiyi” and also a soap factory that he started in 1958. Mr. D.T Akinbiyi, later Oba D.T Akinbiyi (Olubadan), in an article in the Nigerian Tribune of December 22, 1951, whilst tolerating Adelabu’s “garrulity and insolence” admonished that an “an old hourse knows more than a young colt” which however did not diminish the fact, that Adegoke, was highly intelligent and dynamic.

D.T Akinbiyi started his chieftaincy career in 1946 as Mogaji of the Akinbiyi family and later took the title of Aare Onibon in 1953. He continued to climb the 22 chieftaincy steps by series of promotions, until he got the highest title of Otun Olubadan and became the traditional ruler of Ibadan in 1977.

He composed the famous “Ibadan ilu mi,” with music by the late Mr. F.J Adeyinka. This was the intimidating credential of the Olubadan who Asanike succeeded in 1983.

Olubadan Yesefu Oloyede Asanike, ascended the throne on the 4th of February, 1983 and died on the 24th of December, 1993. He was a king with humour, wit and sacarsm. He was the 37th Olubadan and descended from the Asanike family in Idi Aro Ibadan. As Olubadan, his formidable lieutenant- Otun, was Emmaqnuel Adeyemo Oparinde, who succeeded Asanike in 1994 and reigned till 1999. Adeyemo also had intimidating credentials. He was in the military in 1940 as a volunteer, to train the newly recruited army clerk at Kaduna, during the second World War and was appointed a liason officer for communications as a result of his ability to speak and understand Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and Englsih Languages. He had served in Burma, India, Somalia and Malta and rose to the position of Staff Sergeant before his demobilisation in 1946, having rejected the offer to proceed to Sandhurst Military Academy in London.

After his demobilisation, he was seconded to the Ibadan Native Authority as treasurer in 1947. As the chancellor of the ex-chequer of the largest city in Africa’s south of the Sahara, he was Chief Adviser to the Native Authority and Olubadan-in-Council. He was also in 1956, the sole president of the Ibadan Customary Court at Oke-Are. He was also appointed the Minister for local government affairs in 1962, under the late Chief (Dr.) Moses Adekoyejo Majekodumi, then the Administrator of Western Region.

Adeyemo started the first chieftaincy steps in 1953 and rose steadily through the ranks, by scaling 22 rungs of promotion ladder in the Olubadan line of Chieftaincy hierarchy, that saw him to the coveted throne of the Olubadan of Ibadanland on the 14th of January, 1994.

Adeyemo, as Asanike’s deputy, was a formidable deputy and close ally. When Asanike became Olubadan in February 1983 at an advanced age, nobody ever thought that he would reign for ten years. He was frail, fragile and walked with extreme difficulty. But despite his advanced age, he was an Oba filled with wisdom, wit, humour, sacarsm and native intelligence. He had a deliberate melancholic and askance look. He also had an unsmiling face that was laced with dignified candour.

In the ten years of his reign as Olubadan, there were so many beer palour tales and stories, some unverifiable of Late Oba Asanike’s wit. There was a popular story of a cocktail party, organised by the then military governor of Oyo State that Olubadan Asanike attended in the company of Emmanuel Adeyemo, the Otun Olubadan. At the party, scotch egg was served. As his deputy, Adeyemo picked some scotch eggs. The late Asanike was said to have turned to Adeyemo remarking- “Deyemo, o ma fi Akara yi je tan, won ma ngbe eko bo?” Meaning- Adeyemo, do not finish the akara, they would soon bring the accompanying corn pap (eko)
Most times, he deliberately looked vacant, as if he would not see the next day. He would tell his Otun Olubadan “Deyemo, emi o ti se tan ati ku emi nin je Akara re” meaning “Deyemo, you will certainly die before me, because I am not ready to die now.” It was a hard and morbid humour. Adeyemo- Otun OluIbadan, was once engaged in a hearty discussion, with a visiting governor abd Asanike quickly looked at him and said,
“Deyemo, o so fun Gomina pe mi ni Olubadan ni?” meaning “Deyemo, didn’t you tell the governor that I am the Olubadan?”

However, in August, 2017, an unfortunate incident happened, that distorted Ibadan’s famous traditional succession pattern, without regards to Ibadan culture, tradition, mores and history. A sitting governor, like Louis XVI, who, at the height of his imperial madness had roared- “l’etat c’est moi!”, meaning- “I am the state, the state is me!” made history, by an executive fiat, through a gazette and in contravention of the Ibadan Chieftaincy declaration laws of 1957, made 9 Ibadan king makers, substantive kings, at a ceremony, on a Sunday morning in Mapo hall.

The aghast, bewildered and dumb founded reigning Ibadan monarch as consenting authority, was not let into the picture. It was done, mala fide, that is- in bad faith, without, his consent, knowledge and/or acquiescence. One of the king makers, the Osi Olubadan, refused to fall into this bait and apparently challenged this aberration in court and he won. To discerning minds, it was a jig saw puzzle that king makers became kings, in the life time of a reigning monarch!

King sunny Ade, the ace juju musician had sang it so beautifully in one of his records –
Oba ki pe meji l’afin
Ijoye le pe mefa l’afin

This incidence of 2017 has now raised a succession conundrum that only the sitting governor- Engr Seyi Makinde, can now unfurl. Timi Laoye’s drumming question, now becomes more apparent and real:

B’OLUBADAN BA KU TANI O JOYE?

Hon. (Barr.) Femi Kehinde is a Legal Practitioner and Former Member of the House of Representatives Representating Ayedire/Iwo/Ola-Oluwa Federal Constituency of Osun State (1999-2003).

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Behold! The Asiwaju of Edeland, Gov Ademola Adeleke

Published

5 hours ago

May 12, 2024

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

The ancient town of Ede in Osun State is set to host the who’s who in Nigeria’s political and traditional institutions as the Executive Governor of the state, His Excellency, Senator Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke, is installed as the Asiwaju of Edeland.

The one in town event is scheduled to hold on Monday, May 13, 2024 at the Grounds of the Palace of the Timi of Ędę, HRH Oba Adesola Munirudeen Lawal (Laminisa 1), on the same day the governor, who has been termed as ‘performing’ will be celebrating his 64th birthday.

The Asiwaju title was previously held by Governor Adeleke’s elder brother, Isiaka Adeleke, who passed away on April 23, 2017.

Among dignitaries expected at the event are the former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, members of the Osun State executive and legislative councils, federal legislators, members of the diplomatic Corps, business men, politicians across the nation, entertainers and the general public.

THE MAN, ADEMOLA JACKSON ADELEKE

He has one of the most jovial personalities, combined with a mien that is down to earth and thoroughly enterprising. Many call him ever smiling senator; some others call him dancing senator while a whole lot of others call him the incoming governor. He is the Senator, who represented Osun West Senatorial district in the Nigeria’s upper legislative chamber between 2015 and 2019. He is Ademola Jackson Adeleke, a distinguished contender for the Osun governorship seat.

Born of the Adeleke family of Ede in Osun State on May 13, 1960, Adeleke commenced his primary education at Methodist Primary School, Surulere Lagos State before he was privileged to relocate to Old Oyo State to continue his education at Nawarudeen Primary School, Ikire.

Adeleke was born Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke to a Muslim father and Nnena Esther Adeleke, an Igbo Christian mother. Like him, Adeleke’s father, Raji Ayoola Adeleke was a Senator and the Balogun of Ede land in Osun State. His father, Raji Ayoola Adeleke was also the leader of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).

On completion of his primary education, he moved on to The Seventh Day Adventist Secondary School, Ede to begin his post primary schooling. In the later years however, he attended Ede Muslim Grammar School Ede, where he completed his secondary school education and subsequently relocated to the United States of America, joining his two older brothers, who were also studying there.

In the United States, he joined Jacksonville State University, Alabama, and studied Criminal Justice, with minor in Political Science.

To prove doubting Thomases, who wiped up controversies around his educational qualification, wrong, he went back to school and got enrolled at Atlanta Metropolitan State College in the United States, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice in 2021.

A businessman and administrator of no mean repute, Adeleke was the humble Group Executive Director at his brother’s company, Pacific Holdings Limited from 2001 to 2016, where his credible performances shot the company to enviable heights; a height it is still enjoying till date.

It is imperative to note that before he joined Pacific Holdings Limited, Senator Adeleke worked with Quicksilver Courier Company in Atlanta, Georgia, US, as a service contractor from 1985 to 1989. His dexterity to work earned him a progression in career, and he berthed as Vice President at Origin International LLC, Atlanta, Georgia, US, a flavours and fragrance manufacturing company. His meritorious stewardship lasted a period of five years, from 1990 to 1994.

Not a few has described Adeleke as the philanthropic capital of Ede, as his influence in aiding the less privileged and downtrodden remains top notch. He is a voracious believer in community development, and has not spared any expense to see that his community receives global influence.

Politically, Adeleke is a beacon of light and hard nut to crack, having remained an albatross to opposing powers and a reference point to ideal administration.

Shortly after he lost his brother, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, who died in April 2017, he contested the Osun West 2017 Senatorial by-election after the death of his brother, emerging as the winner under the Peoples Democratic Party, where he decamped to from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Having emerged senator, Adeleke’s political influence waxed stronger, an on July 23, 2018, he emerged as the governorship candidate of PDP in Osun State after defeating Akin Ogunbiyi by seven votes. Efforts made to deprive him of the mandate was twated by the courts.

Adeleke’s lawyer in his defense claims his secondary school hasn’t come out to deny his testimonial asking the court to dismiss the Case. The court dismissed the suit stating that the plaintiff could not prove Adeleke’s forgery.

Adeleke ran for Osun state governorship election under the PDP against top contenders Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola of APC and Iyiola Omisore of SDP on 22 September 2018. The election was declared inconclusive by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) while Adeleke was leading, and a rerun slated on September 27, 2018. The candidate of the APC Oyetola was declared winner after the run-off. Adeleke protested the result describing the election as a “coup”.

Much as on March 22, 2019, the tribunal sitting in Abuja declared Adeleke the winner of the election, the Supreme Court later affirmed Gboyega Oyetola as the authentic winner of the 2018 Osun State governorship election on Friday, July 5, 2019

Popularly known as the Dancing Senator because of his penchant to joyfully react to the sounds of music, Adeleke is uncle to one of Nigeria’s popular musicians, Davido.

Governor Adeleke is married to an equally successful businesswoman and a self-made boss. They are blessed with three children who are all entertainers. They are B-Red and Shina Rambo and a daughter, Nike Adeleke. He is the uncle of one Nigeria’s primus inter pares in entertainment, Davido.

As expected, Adeleke is moving Osun State to the greatest of heights as he promised, and many who know him agree that there are still very many more in the offing.

HIS EXTRAORDINARY EASE OF DOING BUSINESS STRATEGY

The governor has shared good news on the ease of doing business in the state as follows:

In continuation of our administration’s effort to improve the state economy and encourage the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), we have completed the harmonization of multiple taxes and levies collected by different government departments, agencies, and ministries across all business sectors of the state economy including the informal sectors into a single bill. This Harmonized Bill curates all levies, which businesses are expected to pay on an annual basis as a single bill.

This initiative is to promote ease of doing business by ensuring seamless and convenient payment of levies and taxes due to individuals and businesses across the state in equal or unequal tranches and ensure the issuance of Harmonized Bill Certificate upon completion of payment of the total amount.

I hereby note to all business owners in Osun state both in formal and informal sectors that the official online payment channels for the state is pay.irs.os.gov.ng; POS machines in Tax stations across the state; commercial banks across Nigeria; and Money Transfer Services for those outside Nigeria.

In addition, we have also completed the deployment of Automation System for improved service delivery on payment of rent and lease on government properties; processing of Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) in 45 days; Electronic Affidavit System; Electronic State of Origin and Local Government Area of Origin portal; Mobile tax stations; Online Tax payment system etc.

OFFICIAL PROFILE OF GOVERNOR ADEMOLA ADELEKE, THE NEW ASIWAJU OF EDELAND

Governor Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke, the Executive Governor of Osun state and the new Asiwaju of Edeland is a pan Nigerian by birth, by philosophy and by worldview. Born at Enugu as a son of independence on 13th May, 1960, the new Ede frontliner widely acknowledged as the Olosun of Osun is a tactical politician, a businessman, show business activist and a humanist within philanthropism. The ever lively, urbane scion of the Adeleke family of Ede North Local Government is an innovative entrepreneur, a grassroot political figure and a strong advocate of good governance, then as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and now as the Governor of Osun State.

From his childhood, the Asiwaju is a man of complex character, a young man with multiplicity of talents and an adult with widely praised open heart, strong will and constancy of adaptation to ideas and innovations. From his secondary education at Ede Muslim Grammar School to his sojourn to the United States and tertiary education at the Jacksonville State University, Alabama where he majored in criminal justice, the Ede frontliner demonstrated deep business interest, unconventional approach and a rare mastery of intricacies of politics, business and social life.

Despite hailing from a well to do family, the Asiwaju was in the United States and Nigeria, a man in search of opportunities for self growth and advancement. His passion for self development and business prosperity occasioned his joining the Quicksilver Courier Company in Atlanta, Georgia, US, as a service contractor between 1985–1989. He progressed to Origin International LLC, Atlanta, Georgia, US, a flavours and fragrance manufacturing company where he served as Vice President from 1990 to 1994.

A suave businessman and administrator, he served as a Director of Guiness Nigeria Limited between 1992- 1999 where he contributed immensely to the expansion of the multinational company. He was later appointed Group Executive Director of Pacific Holdings Limited from 2001 to 2016. Senator Adeleke is also an acclaimed creative Industry entrepreneur and mentor. As a talented creative figure, he mentored world rated ace musicians while his family members and children are leading stars in the global music industry.

As a man ever restless in pursuit of self growth and opportunities, the Asiwaju again opted to restart his educational sojourn which he suspended because of business and entrepreneurial preoccupations. In 2019 after he was rigged out of a governorship election he clearly won, Governor Adeleke, in a can do spirit, re-enrolled at Atlanta Metropolitan State College in the United States and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice in 2021.

All along and considering his family background, the frontliner was for years both a political servant and leader, learning the rope from his father (Senator Ayoola Adeleke) , a second republic progressive Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and his brother, Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke, the First Executive Governor of Osun State. His business teeth were sharpened by his brother, the global business mogul, Dr Adedeji Adeleke while his political potency was strengthened by his sister, the Yeyeluwa of Edeland, Chief (Mrs) Dupe Adeleke- Sanni. The celebrant of today was eventually elected the President of the Adeleke dynasty, representing the sons and daughters of the great Adeleke family at home and abroad.

Having been thus fortified by his innate personality, his family background and his multifaceted experience, his political participation predated 1991 but he took the front seat in 2017 when he was elected with a landslide victory as a Senator for Osun West Senatorial District in 2017. His popularity reached a peak when he won the Osun 2018 governorship election before the open rigging and manipulation that was globally condemned.

As a man of steel character, the frontliner took the gauntlet again in 2022 and beat the incumbent to reclaim the stolen mandate of 2018. Imole as the Governor is popularly known has since been delivering on good governance, winning applause and praises from far and near.

In December 2023, he was honoured with a doctorate degree by the Valley View University, Accra, Ghana. The Vice Chancellor lauded the Governor’s multi-million naira education scholarship as a Senator, his sterling records on workers welfare as a Governor, his performance on infrastructure upgrades and his commitment to due process, rule of law and fear of God.

He has received several awards including the Governor of the Year Award by Champion newspapers in 2023, Sahel Standard Man of the Year in 2022, Vanguard Newspaper Governor of the Year on Infrastructure and a host of other recognition. The frontliner serves on several national governmental committees including being the representative of the South West on the National Minimum Wage Committee.

The new Asiwaju of Edeland is a strong family man, an avid sport lover, a man of God and a David of our time with incessant passion for praise singing and adulation of God Almighty.

Courtesy: Governor’s Office, 2024.

By this new office, Governor Adeleke is now the one who leads in Edeland, and is expected to use his office to better the lot of the people of Ede.

Congratulations sir!

Headline

You’re Non-Existent, Fubara Tells Amaewhule-led Rivers Assembly

Published

6 days ago

May 7, 2024

Eric

Rivers State Governor, Similaya Fubara, has taken a swipe at the Martin Amaewhule-led group of lawmakers at the state House of Assembly and declared that they do not exist anymore in the eyes of the law.

“Let me say it here, those groups of men who claim that they are assembly members, they do not exist. I want it to be on the record,” Fubara declared

The governor stated this when he received on courtesy visit the Bayelsa State delegation of political and traditional leaders, led by former Governor of the State, Senator Seriake Dickson, at Government House in Port Harcourt on Monday.

Fubara and 26 members of the assembly loyal to former governor, Nyesom Wike, have been at loggerheads after the move to impeach the governor was thwarted.

He told the delegation that he has been showing restraint since the political crisis escalated in the state.

The governor further stated that despite wielding state powers that he can deploy to achieve his aim, he has continued to act as the big brother in the face of intimidation and unwarranted attacks.

“So, I want you to see the sacrifice I have made to allow peace to be in our state. I can say here, with all amount of boldness, I have never called any policeman anywhere to go and harass anybody.

“I have never gone anywhere to ask anybody to do anything against anybody. But what happens to the people that are supporting me? They are being harassed, they are being arrested and detained.

“There is no week that somebody doesn’t come here with one letter of invitation for trump-up charges and all those things,” he said.

The governor added, “I am saying all these because of what my senior said here. I don’t think the other party has shown any restraint. I am the one who has shown restraint in the face of this crisis.

“I am the one that is badly hit, even when I have all the government instruments to shake up the table. But, why will I do it? I believe that peace is the best relationship to cultivate.”

He revealed that he had always been present at any meeting that was called to resolve the crisis in the state but after each meeting, he was met with a new dimension of the crisis from the opposing side.

He, however, vowed to continue to be peaceful, acknowledging that power is transient.

“We might have our division, but I believe that one day, we could also come together, but it has gotten to a time when I have to make a statement that they are not existing. Their existence is me allowing them to exist. If I de-recognize them, they are nowhere. I want you to see the sacrifice I have made in allowing peace to reign in our state,” he concluded.

The Punch

Headline

Yahaya Bello vs EFCC: The Tussle Continues

Published

1 week ago

May 5, 2024

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

With the declaration of the Apppeal Court, sitting in Abuja over the weekend, ordering a stay of proceedings in the contempt charge instituted by Yahaya Bello, former Kogi governor, against Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the stage seems set for an elongation of legal fireworks between the two feuding entities.

The declaration was a follow-up of Bello, who approached the Kogi High Court, seeking an order to issue and serve the respondent (EFCC chairman) with “form 49 notice” to show cause why an order of committal should not be made on him.

The judge, after listening to the arguments of the applicant’s counsel, the submission and the exhibits attached in the written address, granted Bello’s prayers and ordered Olukoyede to be summoned to appear before the court to answer the contempt charge.

However, while it is believed that the crisis of apprehending the former governor for prosecution is an institutional matter, many on the other hand, has accused the EFCC chairman of attaching a lot of personal interest in the matter going by the way he is fighting tooth and nail to see Bello in custody.

In a chat with editors at the EFCC Headquarters, Jabi, Abuja, the anti-graft agency chairman swore to follow the prosecution of Bello to the logical conclusion.

He also vowed that all those who obstructed the arrest of the former governor would be brought to justice.

The EFCC is seeking to arraign Bello on 19 counts bordering on alleged money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N80.2 billion.

“If I do not personally oversee the completion of the investigation regarding Yahaya Bello, I will tender my resignation as the EFCC Chairman,” Mr Olukoyede had vowed, adding that those who obstructed the arrest of the former governor would be brought to book. This was a veiled accusation against the governor of Kogi State, Usman Ododo, who used security agents to forestall the arrest of Bello in Abuja.

Olukoyede had also accused Bello of paying his children’s school fees upfront with funds from the atatae coffers.

“A sitting governor moved $720,000 directly from the government account to the Bureau de Change and used it to pay for the school fees of his child in advance in a poor state like Kogi, and you want me close my eyes under the guise that I’m being used. Use by who? At this stage of my life? By who for crying out loud?

“I didn’t initiate the case, I inherited the case file,” he retorted.

The EFCC had sought to arrest Yahaya Bello following his absence from court, and an order by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja after his absence in court.

He was absent from court for his arraignment on a 19-count charge of alleged money laundering to the tune of ₦80bn.

The judge relied on sections 384(4) and (5) of the Administrative and Criminal Justice Act 2015, directing the counsel to the immediate past governor to receive a copy of the charge.

The court held that where it had become impossible to effect personal service of a legal process on a defendant, such could be done through substituted means.

Justice Nwite further held that it was clear that the former governor failed to appear in court for his arraignment.

Notable minds including veteran journalist, Dele Momodu; human advocate and constitutional lawyer, Mike Ozekhome among others have said that the brazen nature with which Olukoyede is going about the matter smacks of personal vendetta, noting that now that the court of appeal has ordered a stay of execution of the contempt of court charges against Olukoyede, everyone must maintain status quotes, and allow Bello to respond to court summon, as the case is now between him and the court of Justice Nwite.

On his part, Momodu has lashed out at the EFCC for selective prosecution, wondering if Olukoyede has any personal stake in the matter, adding that generally the EFCC misfired in the Bello saga.

He said in part, during his Instagram live show:

“I don’t work for EFCC but from all the things that I have read, a lot of them, they misfired. That is the honest truth. They misfired. They didn’t do their due diligence. When you said a man took out money and paid for his children’s school fees, just as he was about to leave power, and you go and check the documents and you see that these things started happening from 2021, 2022 (laughs); I am not an illiterate.

“How do you expect me to believe everything they said when they were too much in a hurry to prosecute him that they did not take their time to check the file. Once you allow a lacuna in law, everything will fall flat.

“That is it. I am not one of those people who will say because I don’t like APC and because I supported Dino Melaye in the last election in Kogi State. Dino is my guy. But, I will not because of that be blinded by hatred for Yahaya Bello and say yes, he should go and surrender himself to EFCC when there is an existing injunction.

“And he is not the only governor who went to court and if the court has granted him that, so be it. We all know that our judiciary is not so perfect but you know, even at that, law is law, it must be obeyed. If we disobey the rule of law, then, we will have to obey the rule of the jungle. So, I never said that they are lying, it is their own statement that shows that they didn’t do their due diligence.”

TheCable, in its report, recalled that “a Kogi State high court presided over by Isa Jamil Abdullahi, had ordered Olukoyede to appear before it on May 13 to show why he should not be committed to prison for allegedly disobeying its order restraining the EFCC from arresting or taking any action against Bello.

“However, the EFCC chairman filed an appeal against the court summon.

“Olukoyede filed two motions, one seeking a stay of execution of the summon, and another one asking to serve processes on Bello via substituted means by pasting the process at his Abuja residence on No 9 Bengazi Steet Wuse Zone 4.

“In its ruling, a three-member panel of justices led by Joseph Oyewole granted the two motions.

“The appellate court fixed May 20 for the hearing of the substantive appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/413/2024.

“Bello had on February 8, 2024, instituted a fundamental rights enforcement suit, asking the court to declare that “the incessant harassment, threats of arrest and detention, negative press releases, malicious prosecution” by the EFCC, “without any formal invitation, is politically motivated and interference with his right to liberty, freedom of movement, and fair hearing”.

“The former governor also sought an order “restraining the respondent by themselves, their agents, servants or privies from continuing to harass, threaten to arrest or detain him”.

“On February 9, the Kogi high court granted an interim injunction restraining the EFCC from “continuing to harass, threaten to arrest, detain, prosecute Bello, his former appointees, and his staff or family members, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive originating motion for the enforcement of his fundamental rights”.

On March 12, the EFCC filed an appeal against the interim injunction because the court could not stop the commission from carrying out its statutory responsibility.

The Kogi high court delivered judgment on the substantive motion on notice on April 17 wherein the presiding judge granted an order restraining the EFCC “from continuing to harass, threaten to arrest or detain Bello”.

However, the judge directed the commission to file a charge against Bello before an appropriate court if it had reasons to do so.

The judgment coincided with the recent “siege” laid on the Abuja residence of Bello by EFCC operatives seeking to arrest him.

The commission had also obtained a warrant of arrest against the former governor from the federal high court in Abuja.

The EFCC is seeking to arraign Bello on 19 counts bordering on alleged money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N80.2 billion.

At the scheduled arraignment on April 18, Bello was absent.

At the court session, Abdulwahab Mohammed, counsel to Bello, told Emeka Nwite, the presiding judge, that the court lacked jurisdiction to grant the warrant of arrest in the first instance.

He referenced the February 9 interim injunction issued by the Kogi high court, adding that the appeal filed by the EFCC was still pending.

However, the EFCC has filed a notice to withdraw the appeal.

In the notice filed on April 22, the anti-graft agency said the withdrawal was predicated on the fact that events have overtaken the appeal.

The commission also admitted that the appeal was filed out of the time allowed by law.

With the present status, legal minds are of the opinion that matters have returned to status quo, and Justice Emeka Nwite, reserved the right to order Bello’s appearance in court, and await his appearance before any other injunction can be made.

“For now, it is not about who won or who did not. The matters of the case rest with the invitation of Bello by Justice Nwite. Bello was absent during his first summon, and the case was adjourned. So, everyone has to keep the calm and wait for the next hearing and see if he appears or not as directly by his lordship,” Ozekhome noted.

As it is therefore, May 20 will be a deciding factor for both Bello and EFCC as the tussle for who laughs last continues.