Respect tradition, stay off our selection process, Ifon community begs Akeredolu

By Temitope Adedeji, Akure 

Elders in Ifon, Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State have pleaded with Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to respect their tradition and stay clear of the selection process of the new Olufon of Ifon. 

The plea was made in Akure by Prof Adetokunbo Adeola at a press conference.

Prof. Adeola, who is a prince of Ifon noted that the tradition has to be respected by allowing kingmakers to pick a new king for the town and not imposition that the state government is planning against the wishes of the people. 

It would be recalled that Olufon of Ifon, Oba Israel Adeusi, was murdered on 26 November, 2020 at Elegbeka along Ifon-Benin highway by unknown gunmen.

Since the demise of the monarch, significant steps have been put in place to install a new king, including the appointment of warrant chiefs who would choose a successor and present him to the government for approval. 

Professor Adeola, who spoke on behalf of the community, stated that politics has come into the selection process, stressing that the government has nothing to do with the selection as it is the people who would appoint their Oba.

He said: “We wish to appeal to the Ondo State government and every politician that had been assigned to unduly interfere in our traditional process of selecting the next Olufon of Ifon, that politics should not be introduced to the process of filling the vacant stool of the Olufon of Ifon.

“The Ifon kingmakers should be allowed to search for and select the next Olufon of Ifon in the traditional means as laid down by our forefathers.

“We also appeal to the Ondo State government that the Ondo State judiciary be allowed to resolve the Olufon chieftaincy matter that is now before it, without undue interference from any quarters.

“Today, we have a candidate who sees himself as an anointed candidate of the government; he goes about in town, boasting and already doing things that an Oba is supposed to be doing and we feel this is wrong.

“There are people in Ifon who are supposed to take prominent role in the appointment of an Oba. Nobody is talking about it just because he is a political stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and government is hell bent on appointing him.”