Tag: ONDO

…kingmakers kick against Prince Adeoye’s emergence

A fresh crisis is unfolding in the agrarian community of Okeigbo in the Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State following the controversial selection of a new traditional ruler, the Oluoke of Okeigbo.

The process to replace the late Oba Lawrence Babajide, who died in 2023 at the age of 92, has sparked outrage after Prince Akintoye Adeoye, President of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), was announced as the Oluoke-elect over the weekend.

However, the development has been met with stiff opposition from kingmakers, community chiefs, and youths, who have rejected the selection and described it as illegitimate.

Speaking to journalists in Akure on Monday, Chief Dele Oduwale, on behalf of the kingmakers, accused those behind Adeoye’s emergence of breaching the customs and traditions of Okeigbo land.

He explained that the Ondo State chieftaincy law mandates rotational succession among ruling houses, and since the Aare Kugbayigbe Ruling House had produced the last monarch, it was now the turn of the Kuole Oloje Ruling House.

“The selection process that produced Prince Adeoye violated the rotational principle enshrined in both our tradition and state law,” Oduwale said. “For peace and unity to prevail in Okeigbo, the Kuole Oloje Ruling House should produce the next Oluoke.”

The controversy has deepened divisions within the community, with many calling for government intervention to prevent further unrest.

“It came to our notice that there was a selection of a new monarch on June 27, 2025, and we all understand that you may not understand the traditional process involved in the selection of a new monarch in our community.

Read Also: SDP, APC trade words over Ondo council funds

“Firstly, it is a known law of Ondo State that once a ruling house has produced a king, the new king will be from the next ruling house.

“Aare Kugbayigbe’s ruling house cannot produce a king in succession. Therefore, it should be the turn of the Kuole Oloje ruling house to produce Oluoke of Okeigbo,” he noted.

According to him, the process of selecting a monarch for the community, which had been without a substantive king, was guided by customs and traditions.

“This dictates that the kingmakers (who are 14 in total, to include the Regent, the six high chiefs and eight others) will identify a suitable candidate through an election process based on their lineage, wisdom, and leadership qualities.

“So, it is in the absence of any of these kingmakers that warrant chiefs are engaged,” he added.

The kingmakers vehemently kicked against the way the state government allegedly handled the obaship tussle without carrying the palace along in their decision.

“Moreover, the state government is aware of an appeal pending before the Akure Division of the Court of Appeal, which has issued a stay of execution order restraining the state government from proceeding in any selection pending the final verdict of the court.”

Expressing his dissatisfaction, another kingmaker, the Oruntan of Okeigbo and head of all chiefs in the kingdom, Deji Akintokun, described anyone parading himself as the new monarch-elect of the community as an ‘impostor.’

Akintokun, who noted that the current selection process carried out in the community was against the custom of the ancient town, asked the residents to remain calm and patient until the right thing is done.

Several efforts to get the reactions of the permanent secretary in charge of the ministry of local government and chieftaincy affairs proved abortive.

Earlier, Prince Adeoye had commended Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa for bringing sanity to the traditional council by maintaining neutrality throughout the process.

He claimed that apart from ensuring decorum during the exercise, the governor also ensured there was no interference in the selection process.

Striking members of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), Ondo State chapter, have agreed to suspend their industrial action following a resolution meeting with the state government over the demand for full financial autonomy for the judiciary.

The truce, announced on Tuesday, came two weeks after JUSUN members commenced an indefinite strike that paralysed court activities across all 18 local government areas of the state.

Confirming the development in a phone interview with The Nation, Ondo JUSUN Chairman, Oluwafemi Afolabi, said the union met with top government officials at the instance of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

“At the meeting, Mr. Governor pleaded with us to sheathe our swords and suspend the industrial action. He acknowledged our demand, which is simply for the judiciary to be allowed to control and expend its funds independently, as provided for under Ondo State laws,” Afolabi said.

He explained that the governor proposed the establishment of a committee to fast-track the implementation of judicial financial autonomy within the framework of the state budget.

According to Afolabi, the union has agreed to suspend the strike once the committee is formally constituted and begins work on delivering financial independence for the state’s judiciary.

The strike had previously prevented judges, lawyers, and litigants from accessing court services, effectively shutting down judicial activities across the state.

“We are willing to suspend the industrial action. But if, with what we have discussed yesterday, we are to set up a committee, parties should be able to know the composition of such a committee, the terms of reference of such a committee, the limit and the period that the committee will work and deliver. 

Read Also: Final year student commits suicide in Ondo, police launch investigation

“The governor made us understand that by July, the implementation will take effect. Truly, in all honesty, he pleaded with us that by July, the committee should work between now and July so that the implementation can take off. It is already too late to do that, to implement it this June.

“But our own position arising from the meeting of the Executive of Jusun was that we should equally await the statement of the government side as regards our resolution. The government should be bold enough to come up and say this is what we discussed in the meeting of such nature.”

Confirming the meeting in an interview, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Kayode Ajulo, told our reporter that the state government has taken the first steps to address the strike action in a manner that will support the timely return of the judiciary workers to their duty post.

“Yes, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa met with the leadership of the JUSUN to discuss, and an agreement has been reached on a way forward in ensuring that their demands are met.

“So, we are optimistic about calling off the strike,” Ajulo said.

A 28-year-old final year student of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo (RUGIPO), Precious Arobo, has reportedly taken his own life in Ondo 

Arobo, a Higher National Diploma (HND) II student, was found dead in a bush near his residence by local residents. Sources said he allegedly left behind a suicide note before hanging himself, although the exact circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear.

According to sources, the suicide note hinted at emotional distress believed to be related to a troubled relationship. 

It was gathered that his grieving parents have since buried him, with friends and colleagues describing him as a kind and well-loved individual.

Read Also: Owo attack: Ondo demolishes Akeredolu’s Memorial Park

“He has been buried, and the parents were heartbroken over his death,” a source told The Nation.

Confirming the incident, the Ondo State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Ayanlade Olayinka, said the command has commenced an investigation and assured that the true cause of the suicide will be uncovered.

This tragic case came less than a year after a similar incident involving a female student of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko (AAUA), Modupe Ayandare, who also reportedly died by suicide after a church vigil. 

Like Arobo, she was said to have left a suicide note before taking her life in an uncompleted building near the church.

Operatives of the Tactical Intelligence Response Squad (TIRS) of the Ondo State Police Command have nabbed two suspected drug peddlers and recovered 51 bags of Indian hemp in Owo Local Government Area of the state. 

The suspects; identified as Usman Bashir (27) and Usman Muhammad (17) from Kaduna State, were apprehended on Thursday around the Ikare Junction axis in the LGA while allegedly transporting the substance concealed in large sacks.

Police spokesman in the state, Olayinka Ayanlade, who disclosed this to journalists in Akure, explained that the arrest of the suspects followed an intelligence received by the squad, whose operations are in line with the directives of the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.

Read Also: Police ready for threats, not retreating – IGP

Ayanlade, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), added that the squad, who are also working under the guide of the commissioner of police in the state, Wilfred Afolabi, to address drug-related activities in the state, conducted a search and found the bags of the Indian hemp with each weighing approximately nine kilograms. 

He stated that items recovered from the suspected drug peddlers have been documented as evidence, while the duo are currently cooling their heels in police custody. 

The police command commended the operatives for the arrest and called on members of the public to support the security agencies with credible information that could assist in the ongoing efforts to reduce crime in the state.

However, it further reaffirmed its position against drug trafficking and related offences, stressing that further details would be provided as the investigation progresses.

…govt playing politics with our children – JAC

…we’re addressing their plight – Govt

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Ondo state-owned tertiary institutions has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa-led government over the alleged poor conditions of the schools, particularly failure to implement the national minimum wage in the institutions.

The committee, which comprises members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU); Non-Academic Staff Union ((NASU); National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP), highlighted several other complaints to include the alleged faliure to pay their accumulated arrears and gratuities of retires and six months outstanding salary.

In a statement issued on Wednesday in Akure by its chairman, Olutayo Ogungbeni, and Secretary, Kunle Akinwonmi, JAC, which comprises members in the state’s four tertiary institutions of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko; Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa; University of Medical Sciences, Ondo; and Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, threatened to shut down the state-owned institutions should the government fail to pay.

“Having realised that the state government is playing politics with our lives and the lives of our children in all the state owned institutions as well as Tertiary Education Sector in Ondo State, we have no other alternative than to direct our members to embark on a 14-DAY warning strIke (at first instance) with effect from 12:00 midnight of Thursday, 19th June, 2025.

“Kindly note that the 14-Day Warning Strike shall be total, hence, no concession is given to any of our members to perform any official duties during the period of this warning strike and any of our members found in their offices during this warning strike shall be seen as saboteurs and shall be treated as such,” the statement read. 

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The Nation recalls that JAC had issued a similar ultimatum on June 2, where it gave a 7-day ultimatum to the government to meet the demands for workers in the state-owned higher institutions.

Then, the state government noted that the delay in implementing the minimum wage for the institutions’ workers was primarily due to the technical committee’s ongoing preparation for consequential adjustment tables.

“We have written several letters to the state government, and we met personally with Mr. Governor on 1st May, 2025, where promises were made to resolve all our demands, but nothing has been done to put a smile on our faces as promised by Mr. Governor.

“We hereby appeal to all the stakeholders in Ondo State, especially the political leaders, traditional rulers and religious leaders, to kindly intervene in this issue before it snowballs into a total shutdown of academic activities in all the institutions in Ondo State.

Reacting, the spokesperson for Governor Aiyedatiwa, Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan, said the government, through the office of the Head of Service, is currently looking into the agitations of the workers.

“Although their problem seems to be internal. If they’re agitating for the new minimum wage, the government has been on top of it, and it’s been addressed with the Office of the State Head of Service.

“Also, I know the governor had increased the subventions coming to the various institutions twice aside from the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) that the various schools are making,” Adeniyan said.

The Ondo state government has begun a crackdown on the adulteration of cocoa beans in the state following the seizure in the Ireje community in the Ondo East Local Government Area of the state.

Permanent Secretary in the state ministry of agriculture and forestry, Segun Odusanya, disclosed this on Saturday in an interview with journalists after the arrest of a female suspect, alleged of supplying adulterants.

Mr Odusanya lamented at how some ‘unscrupulous’ individuals were mixing dried cocoa with the placenta with cocoa beans to increase weight.

He described the action as sabotaging the nation’s economy and image at the international market, saying Ondo, being the highest cocoa producer in Nigeria, is severely impacted by the unwholesome practice.

“The alarming rate of produce adulteration, particularly in cocoa beans, is compromising quality, resulting in loss of premium value and attracting discounts on our goods in the global market.

“We will continue fighting this war against adulteration. Although it’s a significant challenge, we won’t relent until the state is free from this harmful practice,” Mr Odusanya said.

He, however, called on the people to join hands with governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s government to eradicate the menace, adding that the practice is detrimental to the state.

Read Also: Ondo Commissioner-nominee Osamaye thanks God, Aiyedatiwa

Sunday Dosumu, Director of Produce Licensing, explained that the female suspect, who is still being profiled, was caught by the task force team during a routine patrol of the axis.

According to Dosumu, “The suspect was found with bags of dried kolanut that have been cut into smaller pieces, which contains nicotine that compromises cocoa bean quality and bags of fresh and dried cocoa pods that have been cut into smaller parts.”

He expressed concerns that despite awareness campaigns, people are still engaging in adulteration, noting that the primary motive behind adulteration is to artificially increase weight and profit by adding particles to cocoa beans.