Some indigenes of Iresaadu in Surulere Local Government of Oyo State have urged Gov. Seyi Makinde to order the release of the long-overdue entitlements and paraphernalia of office of Oba Abraham Adeyeye, the Aresaadu of Iresaadu.
Mr Stephen Raji, Counsel to the traditional ruler, who spoke on behalf of the group, made the appeal at a news conference on Thursday in Ibadan.
The indigenes also urged the governor to direct the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters and the Chairman of Surulere Local Government to allow Oba Adeyeye to perform the functions of his office without hindrance.
The group also asked the Commissioner, Mr Ademola Ojo, to withdraw a purported letter dated September 2025, which directed the Surulere LG chairman to start nomination process for a new Aresaadu.
According to the group, the letter reportedly directed the council to commence the nomination process for a parallel Aresaadu, based on claims that a court judgment had nullified Oba Adeyeye’s appointment.
It described the claim as falsehood, insisting that no court had sacked the traditional ruler.
The group said that such directive would only create confusion in Iresaadu.
It further advised the commissioner to rely on official facts, records in his custody, and the governor’s directives, rather than external influences from some traditional rulers in the state.
The group said that no other traditional ruler has a statutory role under existing laws in matters relating to the Aresaadu throne.
It also warned against attempts to alter the Chiefs Law of Oyo State or the Aresaadu Chieftaincy Declaration to require other traditional rulers’ consent, stating that only the State House of Assembly has such powers.
The group appealed to Gov. Makinde to investigate and sanction officials linked to the incident, saying it had tarnished the government’s image.
It also demanded that Oba Adeyeye be accorded all rights due to him as a member of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Surulere Traditional Council.
The group urged the governor to urgently intervene in the prolonged crisis surrounding the Aresaadu stool.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the two ruling families to the throne of Iresaadu, the Oshunbiyi family that produced Oba Abraham Adeyeye and the Emiolu family, have been embroiled in a prolonged crisis over whose turn it is to produce the oba.
The Emiolu family claimed that the previous oba, who was allegedly removed by the court as a result of an inadequate selection process, Oba Jimoh Oloyede, emerged from the same family as the current Oba Adeyeye; hence, it is their turn to produce the king.
The Oshunbiyi family, on the other hand, claimed that Oba Jimoh Oloyede, who was removed, did not reign in the eye of the law, and therefore relying on existing legal backing to produce another candidate from the same family. (NAN)
