By Ayodele Oni
The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, has distanced himself from any plans to allegedly impeach Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde.
The reaction of the Olubadan, a former Governor of the State, stemmed from the allegation made by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Adebo Ogundoyin, that the Olubadan and a former First Lady of the State Florence Ajimobi, tried to induce him with money to impeach Governor Makinde. He, however said that he rejected the inducement because of his unalloyed loyalty to Makinde.
The Olubadan said this when he stated his position in a statement on the ongoing threat of impeachment against Oyo state Governor Seyi Makinde.
According to the Olubadan, as a traditional ruler, he has no such power.
Dismissing claims linking him to the alleged plan, Oba Ladoja maintained that a traditional ruler has no constitutional authority to remove a sitting governor. He noted that even the impeachment of a local government chairman is beyond the powers of a monarch.
In a press statement issued on Tuesday by his media aide, Adeola Oloko, the monarch described the allegation as false and urged those behind it not to drag the Olubadan throne into political controversies.
The statement reads partly, “The Olubadan of Ibadanland, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, has refuted claims that Kabiyesi was planning to unseat the Oyo State Governor, His Excellency, Engr Seyi Makinde. To say the least, this is a lie.”
Both the Olubadan and Makinde leaders had dismissed an earlier allegation that Makinde was planning to remove the Olubadan from office. They dismissed it as baseless, while criticising former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, who made the claim publicly.
Fayose had alleged that the Oyo State Government was planning to dethrone the monarch and sanction him over his absence at the elevation ceremony of High Chief Sharafadeen Ali in Ibadan.
However, the Oyo State Government, through the Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, denied the claim, stating that no such move had been considered or discussed.
Addressing the fresh allegation, Dotun Oyelade, the Information Commissioner also raised concerns over what he described as conflicting narratives surrounding the issue, coming shortly after the earlier claim involving the Olubadan stool and the state government.
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