The tussle for supremacy and who is truly in charge of Ikere kingdom, a town in Ekiti State has taken another dimension, as one of the paramount rulers, Ogoga and his chiefs have rejected the recognition of the second king.
The government of the state recently recognised the Olukere, who the people of Odo-Oja of the town see as their paramount ruler but who until now does not enjoy official recognition.
The Ogoga-in-Council of Ikere Ekiti opposed the recognition granted by the Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, to Olukere of Ikere, Oba Ganiyu Obasoyin, as a king.
They also described the autonomy granted to the people of Odo-Oja in Ikere under the king as ‘balkanization’ of the town.
The aggrieved chiefs are those loyal to a rival king in the town – the Ogoga of Ikere-Ekiti, Oba Adejimi Adu-Alagbado.
The chiefs led by Sapetu of Oke Ikere, Chief Olufemi Babatola, alleged that the Fayemi was being vindictive for losing the 2018 governorship election in Ikere to an indigene of the town and the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) governorship candidate, Prof Kolapo Eleka.
Besides, they stated that the governor’s action was contempt of a case they had instituted before the state high court to challenge the legitimacy of the Olukere as a king.
The Chiefs argued that the Odo Oja that Fayemi granted autonomy had been under rulership of Chief Ologotun for ages, adding that it was sacrilege, aberration, and absurdity for that axis to be constituted into a town.
Prof Eleka, the former deputy governor to Gov Ayo Fayose, is from Ikere and he contested the 2018 election under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) against the incumbent governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and despite losing the overall election, he won his hometown, Ikere Ekiti.
NAN
