CCII Backs OYHA on Rotational Chairmanship of Council of Obas

Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

The umbrella body of all socio-cultural groups in Ibadan, the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), yesterday threw its weight behind the decision of the Oyo State House of Assembly to retain the rotational clause of the Chairmanship of Council of Obas and Chiefs in the state. The council also appealed to aggrieved members of the Assembly that are not happy with the development to allow peace to reign in the state.

The President-General of CCII, Chief Sulaimon Ajewole, who made the declaration while speaking with journalists in Ibadan, equally said the council is working in cohort with a social cultural group of Ibarapa indigenes, Ibarapa Consultative Forum (ICF) to pursue the actualisation of the creation of Ibadan state. 

The state House of Assembly had on Tuesday passed the Oyo State Chieftaincy Law (Further Amendment) 2025 into law which replaced Oyo State Chieftaincy Law 2000 that made the Alaafin of Oyo as Permanent  Chairman of the Council. 

But the new bill passed into law by the House provides that the Chairmanship of the council be rotated among the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Alaafin of Oyo and Soun of Ogbomoso. 

Ajewole commended the members of the 10th Oyo Assembly for what he described as robust debate that led to the decision to give room for rotation of the Chairmanship position of the Oyo Council of Obas and Chiefs, stating that the members have written their names in the good books of annals of history for doing what is fair, just and equitable among all the regions in the state.

He similarly thanked Governor Seyi Makinde for allowing the lawmakers to do their job without unnecessary influence, noting that the council is not surprised that the 10th Assembly passed the bill to rotate the chairmanship as it is the right thing to do. 

According to him, the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs have not conveyed any meeting since 2011 because of a court case initiated by the late Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, which sought  to make the Alaafin the Permanent Chairman of the Council. 

He noted that posterity will adjudge the lawmakers to have stood on the side of justice, fairness and equity and for giving the whole Oyo State indigenes a sense of belonging.

Going down memory lane, Ajewole recounted how the trio of Olubadan, Alaafin and Soun had challenged the Ooni of Ife, late Oba Okunade Sijuwade on the same issue of permanent chairmanship in the days of the old Oyo state, before Osun State was carved out. 

While backing the resolve of the Ogundoyin-led Assembly, Ajewole said: “The Chairmanship of the Council of Obas and Chiefs in Oyo State has, for decades, operated on a rotational basis — a principle enshrined in the 1959 Western Region Gazette and respected by successive administrations. This system was designed to ensure that no single traditional ruler, no matter how revered, assumes permanent leadership over others.”

“Under this structure, leadership has historically rotated among first-class monarchs such as the Olubadan of Ibadanland, the Alaafin of Oyo, the Soun of Ogbomoso, and other respected royal stools. It promoted unity, mutual recognition, and respect across the cultural landscape of our state.”

“The smooth rotation of chairmanship began to unravel during the administration of late Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, who in 2011 removed the late Alaafin, Oba Adeyemi, from the position of Permanent Chairman, reverting to the rotation system in response to growing tensions among traditional rulers.”

“This move followed a long history of the late Alaafin’s assertion of dominance over the council, dating back to the old Oyo State, where he engaged in a fierce rivalry with the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade. “

“In one widely reported case, Alaafin Adeyemi took the then Governor Bola Ige to court, seeking to stop him from appointing the Ooni as permanent chairman of the traditional council — a case that highlighted the deep divisions this matter has long provoked.”

“In 2011, Oba Adeyemi again approached the court, seeking a judicial declaration that he be recognized as the permanent chairman of the Council of Obas in Oyo State. This legal battle, rather than resolving the issue, exacerbated disunity among traditional rulers and rendered the Council dysfunctional for several years,” he said. 

On the creation of Ibadan State, Ajewole noted that Ibadan has all it takes in terms of natural and human resources, to be a state.

Ibadan, which he described as a megapolis has one of the largest concentration of professionals in Africa and the only capital city out of the three capital cities of the old regions – Northern, Western and Eastern – that is yet to be made a state.

He stressed that the CCII, in collaboration with the Ibarapa Consultative Forum, has submitted a memorandum to the National Assembly for deliberation which, he said, is long overdue.

He further stressed that the inability of the past civilian regimes to create any state is not due to lack of power but rather lack of political will to do so.