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Olubadan: Ladoja under pressure, may accept beaded crown

Olubadan: Ladoja under pressure, may accept beaded crown
Intense lobbying is underway to persuade former Oyo State Governor and Otun Olubadan of Ibadanland, High Chief Rashidi Ladoja, to accept the beaded crown, as dictated for his status in the revised Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration.
The move is seen by many as essential to de-escalate tensions over the noise generated by the publication of the gazette showing the new amendment.
The Oyo State government, in the new Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration, passed by the state House of Assembly and signed into law by Governor Seyi Makinde, revised Section 4 of the 1957 Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration.
The original version stated: “The person who may be proposed as a candidate by the line whose turn it is to fill a vacancy in the office of the Olubadan shall be the most Senior (High) Chief in that Line.”
However, Section 4 of the amendment, titled “New Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration,” replaced “the most Senior (High) Chief in that Line” with “the most Senior Beaded Crown Oba in that Line.”
Section 4 of the new law states: “The person who may be proposed as a candidate by the Line whose turn it is to fill a vacancy in the office of the Olubadan shall be the most Senior Beaded Crown Oba in that Line.”
Ladoja, who is the most senior of the High Chiefs and whose line it is to produce the next Olubadan, has not accepted the beaded crown.
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Despite Ladoja’s public stance of only wanting the Olubadan crown, prominent community leaders and legal experts argued that his acceptance would stabilise the succession system and benefit Ibadanland.
The move, The PUNCH gathered, was to de-escalate the tension generated by the controversial release of the government gazette.
Our correspondent observed the movements of people in and out of Ladoja’s private residence in Ondo Street, Bodija, Ibadan, the state capital on Sunday.
Two senior chiefs from Otun Olubadan and Balogun lines, who did not want their names in print, said “Although they did not subscribe to Governor Seyi Makinde’s interference in Olubadan’s succession system, rejecting the beaded crown by Ladoja as the next in line to the Olubadan, Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, with no court process in place, might create a yawning gap in Ibadan succession system, and ultimately do harm to Ibadanland.”
One of the Mogajis who spoke with The PUNCH said, “Let me appeal to the Otun Olubadan to accept the crown.
“As Mogajis, we are too junior to accuse our fathers in the rank of crown-wearing High Chiefs of not doing well. They will heave a sigh of relief once Ladoja accepts the crown because they perceive that people calling them carton crown-wearing monarchs are doing so because of Ladoja and will henceforth call them correct monarchs once he accepts the crown.
“Ladoja enjoyed enormous goodwill, having done Ibadanland some good and saved it from different chieftaincy crises from the times of Oba Odulana Odugade (2007-2016), through Oba Saliu Adetunji, Aje Ogunguniso1 (2016-2022), Oba Mohood Balogun (2022-2024) and the reigning Oba Owolabi Olakulehin.
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“Why should we now put roadblocks in his way when he did not supplant his seniors and a reigning monarch is in place?”
Some prominent sons and daughters of Ibadanland, alongside indigenous lawyers and Senior Advocates of Nigeria, however, insisted that some fundamental legal issues would have to be addressed in the new chieftaincy law.
Efforts to get Ladoja’s reaction to the unfolding developments failed, as his media aide, Adeola Oloko, did not pick up calls put through to his telephone as of press time.
Meanwhile, a former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in South Africa, Bola Babarinde, has appealed to Makinde not to allow the disruption of the Olubadan succession arrangement.
Babarinde, in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday, said the Ibadan traditional system, which had thrived for over two centuries, should be allowed to remain intact.
According to him, any attempt to alter the succession arrangement could undermine the peace and progress of the state.
Babarinde, a great-grandson of Odetilo, the late warrior king of Ibadanland, noted that Ibadan’s chieftaincy system stood out for its non-hereditary and egalitarian structure.
Olubadan: Ladoja under pressure, may accept beaded crown
News
Just in: Factional Zamfara assembly leaders want governor to represent budget

Just in: Factional Zamfara assembly leaders want governor to represent budget
A factional House of Assembly has emerged in Zamfara state with members demanding the re-presentation of the 2025 Appropriation Bill by Governor Dauda Lawal.
The group, made up of nine lawmakers who were suspended in February 2024 over allegations of misconduct, conspiracy, and illegal sitting, convened in Gusau, the state capital, and declared the formation of a parallel legislative body.
At the session, the lawmakers elected Hon. Bashir Aliyu Gummi as Speaker of the factional assembly.
During the sitting, the faction addressed several issues, including the state’s deteriorating security situation, economic challenges, and the recent reports of mass sackings within the state civil service allegedly carried out by the Lawal administration.
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The group further demanded that Governor Lawal re-present the 2025 budget, arguing that the process followed in its initial passage was flawed. The governor had originally submitted the N545 billion Appropriation Bill to the widely-known State House of Assembly led by Speaker Bilyaminu Ismail Moriki in December 2024. The bill was passed and signed into law that same month.
Present at Wednesday’s session were Hon. Aliyu Ango Kagara (Talata Mafara South), Ibrahim Tudu Tukur (Bakura), Nasiru Abdullahi Maru (Maru North), and Faruk Musa Dosara (Maradun 1). Others included Bashar Aliyu (Gummi 1), Bashir Abubakar Masama (Bukkuyum North), Amiru Ahmed (Tsafe West), Basiru Bello (Bungudu West), and Mukhtaru Nasiru (Kaura Namoda North).
Just in: Factional Zamfara assembly leaders want governor to represent budget
News
NLC to IMF: Your reforms inflict hunger, poverty on masses

NLC to IMF: Your reforms inflict hunger, poverty on masses
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has taken a swipe at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over its policy proposals to Nigeria and other African nations on how to rejuvenate their ailing economies.
Indeed, the NLC pointedly told the IMF that its conditionalities for giving loans to Nigeria and others were inflict pains of hunger and poverty on the masses.
The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, stated this when he received the IMF team team comprising the its Resident Representative for Nigeria, Christian H. Ebeke, and, Axel Schimmelpfennig from Washington, DC.
The purpose of the visit, it was learnt, was to assess how Nigerian workers and the general populace are being affected by the current socioeconomic environment and the hardship resulting from government policies.
The IMF delegation, led by Schimmelpfennig also sought insights from the NLC regarding the state of the labour market in Nigeria. According to them, the information gathered would contribute to the IMF’s annual country report for Nigeria.
Sources at the meeting disclosed that the IMF team acknowledged that the Nigerian government has been grappling with fiscal challenges since assuming office.
They emphasized that the IMF’s recommendations are purely advisory and not mandatory, based on the prevailing realities in each country.
The delegation expressed concern that, often, governments do not follow the IMF’s recommendations to the letter, instead adapting them to align with political objectives. In effect, the IMF attempted to distance itself from the adverse consequences of some recent economic reforms in Nigeria.
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Nevertheless, the IMF team requested continued engagement with the NLC going forward.
Ajaero made it clear that governance should prioritize citizens’ welfare over profit-making.
News
‘Enough is enough’, Tinubu directs security chiefs to stop violent attacks

‘Enough is enough’, Tinubu directs security chiefs to stop violent attacks
President Bola Tinubu has ordered security operatives to end forthwith the violent attacks in some parts of the country, especially in Plateau, Borno, and Benue states.
He gave the directive during a meeting with security chiefs at the State House on Wednesday.
The meeting was attended by Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser (NSA); Mohammed Mohammed, director-general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA); Emmanuel Undianeye, chief of defence intelligence; Oluwatosin Ajayi, director-general (DG) of the Department of State Services (DSS); and Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff (CoS) to the President.
Speaking with journalists after the meeting, Ribadu said Tinubu declared that “enough is enough” on the resurgence of violence in some parts of the country.
The NSA said the president directed security chiefs to work with the political authorities in states and at the grassroots level to find a lasting solution to the insecurity.
He said the security chiefs had acted on Tinubu’s previous instructions by meeting with political leaders in the affected communities and states.
The NSA said the meeting offered the security chiefs the opportunity to fully brief the president about the current security situation of the country.
“This time, we were able to sit with him for hours and give a proper briefing. We also took new instructions from him,” he said.
“Insecurity is not only a government problem.
“It also involves the subnational units — the communities, local governments, and especially the governors. The president directed that we work more closely with them.
“Some of these problems are community-related. While not entirely so, that element plays a significant role.
“Mr. President is working hard to ensure that Nigeria enjoys peace and stability. We are not relenting. We will not stop until we get the results he demands.”
On the resurgence of violent attacks in Borno, Ribadu said the terrorists were planting explosives during the period of relative peace in the state.
“This enemy does not give up easily. When there’s peace for a long time, they try to shock the public with an isolated incident,” he said.
The NSA said the security situation in the country is not yet at 100 percent, while noting that there is “significant improvement”.
Since the beginning of the month, many have been killed in some communities in Plateau State.
Benue State has also recorded violent attacks as over 50 people were killed in Ukum and Logo LGAs on April 18.
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