Iragbiji chieftaincy declaration: Osun Govt, Aragbiji disagree over kingship system

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo

The Osun State Government has responded to allegations of bias and illegality leveled against it by the Aragbiji of Iragbiji, Oba Rasheed Olabomi, providing clarification on its recent decision regarding the Iragbiji chieftaincy declaration.

The government accused the monarch of twisting facts and politicizing the issue of justice and equity in the Iragbiji kingship system.

The controversy started when the Aragbiji of Iragbiji warned Governor Ademola Adeleke against setting the town on fire over political acrimony.

This followed the state government’s approval of the White Paper on the Report of a Judicial Panel of Inquiry into the Aragbiji of Iragbiji Chieftaincy Declaration.

Oba Olabomi claimed that the purported report of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry was unknown to the Aragbiji, the four ruling houses—Ajibode, Osungbemi, Arowodoye, and Ogunmolu—and the state’s chieftaincy laws.

He also alleged that the governor’s attempt to smuggle an unknown family into the Iragbiji chieftaincy structure was a deliberate act aimed at plunging the town into crisis.

However, the government, in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Dosu Babatunde, said the governor had been unfairly accused of having partisan interests in the matter.

Babatunde emphasized that the administration had the legal rights and powers to act on state matters, including revising previous decisions.

He explained that the State Executive Council’s decision only reversed a previous state action that denied the Lagbua Family their right to be included in the chieftaincy declaration.

The commissioner, debunking the Aragbiji’s claims that the governor dislikes Iragbiji sons and daughters, listed several development projects in Iragbiji, including road construction, tourist site upgrades, and the governor’s recent visit to the town for an SDG event.

Setting the record straight, Babatunde said:

“The administration of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola in 2010 set up a One-Man Judicial Panel of Inquiry into the Aragbiji of Iragbiji Chieftaincy Declaration to include the Lagbua Family as a ruling house. The panel was headed by a serving judge of the Osun State High Court, Hon. Justice Dr. A.A. Aderibigbe, and was established following sustained agitation by the Lagbua Family.

“The panel sat between March 8 and 31, 2010, at the High Court Hall, Osogbo, where all relevant stakeholders in the Aragbiji of Iragbiji Chieftaincy testified. It submitted its report to the government on July 28, 2010, but the report was not considered by the State Executive Council until April 3, 2013, when it rejected the panel’s recommendation on the grounds that the Lagbua Family’s claim was too remote. The decision was then published in the government’s official gazette.

“It should be noted that when the State Executive Council met in 2013, an Iragbiji son was the Chief of Staff to former Governor Rauf Aregbesola. Reports at the time indicated that the council was largely influenced to ignore the merits of the panel’s report by simply dismissing it.

“However, the Lagbua Family continued its agitation and appealed to the present administration for redress. His Excellency, the Executive Governor, later approved the constitution of a committee to produce a White Paper on the Report of the One-Man Judicial Panel. The committee was composed of senior technocrats in government.

“The new committee recommended that the government set aside the decision of the then State Executive Council, which had rejected the One-Man Judicial Panel’s recommendation, and implement its findings.

“The reason for the rejection of the panel’s recommendation had already been addressed and resolved by the panel, which took judicial evidence from all parties. The panel, in one of its findings, agreed that the Lagbua Family’s claim was not remote, as they had consistently agitated for their inclusion in the Aragbiji Chieftaincy Declaration. They had written numerous letters and petitions to the governments of the Western Region, Western State, Oyo State, and Osun State.

“The panel found that the Lagbua Family was included in the draft Aragbiji Chieftaincy Declarations of 1951 and 1956 but was excluded when the declaration was formally registered in 1958.

“Furthermore, in arriving at its recommendation to include the Lagbua Family in the Aragbiji Chieftaincy Declaration, the panel found that as recently as 1942, one Oyekanmi, a member of the Lagbua Family, served as Elemo, the Head of all Princes in Iragbiji—a position recognized in the present Chieftaincy Declaration.

“Based on these established facts, the State Executive Council, at its meeting on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, vacated the previous decision of April 3, 2013, and approved the One-Man Judicial Panel’s recommendation that the Lagbua Family be included in the Aragbiji of Iragbiji Chieftaincy Declaration.

“To ensure that the rights and privileges of the existing four ruling houses are not jeopardized, the government further directed that, in the new order of rotation, the Lagbua Family should be the fifth and final ruling house.

“These are the facts of the matter, laid bare to the public to demonstrate that this administration operates not on sentiment but on well-documented facts, in the spirit of justice and fair play.”

The commissioner assured the public that the decision on the Iragbiji Chieftaincy Declaration was not targeted at any individual and was not intended to disrupt public peace, adding that the government’s intention was to enforce equity and fairness.

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