After 25 years of royal crisis, lull and conundrum elicited by inability to produce a new monarch, the Ekiti State government has issued a 21-day ultimatum to Oke-Ako-Ekiti kingmakers to set machinery in motion and install a new monarch.
The state Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye, handed down the order while interacting with stakeholders from the community over inability to produce a king after 25 years, via a statement signed by her Special Assistant on Media, Victor Ogunje.
To ease the selection process, Mrs Afuye narrowed the emergence of a new Owa of Oke-Ako to ‘Oke and Odo Aafin’ extractions of Aafin ruling house, while the third arm named ‘Afata, was barred from participating on the basis that they had been the one producing the king from that dynasty.
As part of the troubleshooting efforts, the deputy governor, appealed to Afata family, to withdraw the case they instituted at the Apex Court, to facilitate a seamless selection process.
Mrs Afuye stated that the rampaging and troubling kidnappings and killings in Ipao-Oke-Ako-Irele axis would have been suppressed for long, if the town had a substantive king that could rally his people against the daredevil bandits terrorising the area.
She said: “We have no reason not to continue with the selection. No restraining order or a stay of execution order from any court that can stop the government and kingmakers from continuing with the selection process, so we have to move forward.
“Let your town move forward. Many of you are not living there. Nobody will be happy with the way things are in Oke-Ako. Let Oke Aafin and Odo Aafin go and produce the next traditional ruler, Afata should stand down because it has enjoyed the stool before.
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“We give you an ultimatum of 21 days to put your house in order and do what is necessary to save your community from underdevelopment.”
The Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Home Affairs, Ojo Atibioke, disclosed that the government will officially communicate with the Ikole Local Government Area to order the Aafin ruling house to select a new Owa.
“All the legitimate princes from Aafin ruling house, with the exemption of those from Afata lineage, should be allowed to participate in the selection. Nobody should be excluded and this should be done in the presence of the council and security agencies to monitor the situation.
“From now, the government will pay special attention to Oke-Ako issues,” Atibioke said.
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