Why Oyediji can’t succeed Oba Odugade, by Olubadan-in-Council

Head of Seriki Line in Ibadan, Chief Adebayo Oyediji, was on Thursday told to perish the thought of succeeding the late Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade as the Olubadan of Ibadan.
The centenarian Oba Odugade died on Tuesday night at 101.
The Olubadan-in-Council declared that the post ‘Seriki’ does not exist “because nobody bears the title for now and nobody could present himself for installation unless the Council does so to the governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi”.
The 89-year-old business tycoon had, on Wednesday, said that he was the next person to be installed as Olubadan and not the Balogun Olubadan, High Chief Saliu Adetunji.
He premised his claim on the fact that a previous 1989 judgement of an Oyo State High Court had favoured the Seriki Line’s qualification for elevation to the Ekerin Olubadan position whenever two consecutive positions are vacant either in the Balogun or Otun Line.
Oyediji argued that with the demise in November, 2015 of two High Chiefs: Omiyale (Balogun Line) and Kuye (Otun Line), the room was open to the Seriki Line to present their candidate as the third Line in Ibadanland.
To ensure that nothing or nobody stops his installation, he has approached an Oyo State High Court, asking for a restraining order to prevent the Olubadan-in-Council‎ from installing Adetunji as the next Olubadan.
But speaking on behalf ‎of the Council at the late Olubadan’s palace, Monatan, the Ashipa Balogun of Ibadanland, High Chief Abimbola Tajudeen Ajibola, said: ‎”It is undisputed that the current High Chief qualified to be Olubadan is High Chief S. A. Adetunji. That is the authentic one. No other one. Any other one is a counterfeit.
“You know in this our institution, we have Lines and there are only two Lines recognised so far, both by law and otherwise. It is Otun Olubadan Line and Balogun Line, and that is all. There is no third Line. Nobody is competent to say he can be Olubadan. He cannot appoint himself; he cannot put himself there.
“We are not aware of any judgement that Chief Oyediji is claiming because at the moment, there is no Seriki or whatsoever.
“Even the 1959 declaration law which he quoted says that ‘if there are two vacancies in one Line’. No other judgement can overrule the law. That is the law, basically. So, we have no Seriki now. The only Seriki we knew then was Akinloye and he died a long time ago. There is no execution, there is nothing, no awareness. How can they say they want to be Olubadan? Who is going to sign for them?
“It is under the tradition that we have two Lines: the Otun Line and the Balogun Line. All members of the council would sign for whosoever to be proposed. Who is going to sign for them?”, Ajibola asked.
Still opposing Oyediji, Ajibola said: “The governor will not even sign for them. Whoever we present to Olubadan as kingmakers is what the governor will follow. Are they going to sign for themselves?
“They are not part of our meetings. We have never had any meeting with them. They have not been promoted. What they should do, they should do it right away in time. They have not asked the Olubadan before he was deceased to promote them. So, who is laying claim to what? There is nobody competent so far. It is a fake news”.
Commenting on the claim of Oyediji with regard to the vacancies created by the demise of Omiyale and Kuye last year, the Council said that ‎”Even, if they lay claim to Omiyale and Kuye, that is gone! There are no more existing vacancies. We have filled the vacancies. So, where are they going to come in? At the moment, the only person competent to come in would have been Seriki, and there is none.
“This man, Oyediji, who is laying claim to be Olubadan, or that he is competent, is only Osi Seriki. He has not been promoted. He should apply to Olubadan to promote him first before he starts arguing. He has no locus standi. He won’t present anything to the governor. The governor would not listen. The governor knows the right thing. There is a system for everything. There is no Seriki to sign for him.
We are not to join issues with them because we don’t recognise this Seriki thing. That is the principle so far”, Ajibola declared.
Other Council members in attendance at the late Olubadan’s palace, Monatan on Thursday were: High Chiefs Lekan Balogun (Otun Olubadan), Abimbola Ajibola (Ashipa Balogun), Akinloye Olakuleyin (Otun Balogun), Eddy Oyewole (Ashipa Olubadan), Olufemi Olaifa (Osi Balogun), and Biodun Kola-Daisi (Ekerin Olubadan).
Other callers at the palace to commiserate with the Odugade family were: Evangelist Bola Are, Prophet Michael Olowere,‎ Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Michael Adeyemo, Senator Teslim Folarin and others.