Onido Stool Crisis: Olubadan Calls For Peace, Sets Up Panel Of Inquiry
•By OYENIYI KAZEEM
IBADAN – THE Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, has intervened in the protracted Onido of Ido stool crisis, calling on all parties involved to maintain peace as he approved the setting up of a panel of inquiry to investigate the dispute.
The monarch announced that the panel, which will probe the crisis that has lingered for about 19 years, will be inaugurated on Monday, January 12, at the Olubadan Palace, Oke-Aremo, Ibadan.
A statement signed by his Media Aide, Adeola Oloko, did not disclose the names or composition of the panel members but noted that the committee would commence sitting immediately after its inauguration.
According to the statement, the panel’s mandate includes examining both the remote and immediate causes of the Onido stool crisis, as well as making far-reaching recommendations that will assist the Olubadan-in-Council in resolving the dispute permanently.
The intervention followed renewed concerns raised by stakeholders of Ido town in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State, who recently lamented the worsening leadership crisis in the community.
The stakeholders said Ido has remained in a fragile state since 1997 due to the emergence of three individuals laying claim to the Onido stool, resulting in multiple appointments and counter-appointments that have deepened divisions within the town.
The three claimants were identified as Oba Benjamin Ademola Ishola Orobiyi, Tajudeen Akinola and Muritala Babalola.
They appealed to the Oyo State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, and the Olubadan of Ibadanland to urgently intervene to restore peace and stability in the community.
The statement explained that the Olubadan’s decision to constitute the panel was in exercise of his statutory role as the prescribed and consenting authority on chieftaincy matters within Ibadanland.