Obaship crisis: Ekiti residents warn Fayemi not to set their community ablaze

Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti state has been asked not to present staff of office to the Oba-elect of Orin-Ekiti, Prince Olufemi Ajibewa. The call was made by indigenes and leaders of the community.

According to them, taking such a step might set the community ablaze and would be tantamount to contempt of court, given the fact that the case is in court.

Olufemi Ajibewa was installed by Fayemi against resistance from the two ruling houses, saying Ajibewa was alien to history and never belonged to royalty.

The Nation reports that Prince Segun Olubunmo on behalf of the community said government pressing ahead to install someone from that family was “anti-democratic, despotic, anti-cultural and obnoxious.

“But we are warning that the matter is in court. We have filed an injunction to restrain the government and nobody should prompt the position of the court, it is contemptuous and liable.

“The person with which the government wanted to crown is our tenant, not a prince. We have given them quit notice to leave our land at Orin. If they belong to royalty, would they have been asked to vacate the vicinity of the palace? They are tenants and they will remain tenants.

“No one can force us to accept a person who is not a prince as a king to be installed as a king. Ekiti should not be a precedent where desperation for the installation of Obas is high. You can’t use the Obaship position to please a friend. The interest of the public should supersede.

“We have produced 17 Obas and none of them was from Ajibewa.”