The Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes has called for reforms into the appointment of new obaship and chieftaincy in the Olubadan system.
Chief Yemi Soladoye; its Legal Adviser, Kunle Ishola; and the Publicity Secretary, Ademola Alabi, made this known in a statement on Sunday.
CCII noted that Ibadanland “operates a Republican System of Chieftaincy Rule where there is no Ruling House, no sacred crowns, no complicated Ifa oracle consultations.”
This, the group said, was the reason for the smooth transition from one king to the next that could not be compared with any other system in Yorubaland.
It said, “Despite the beauty of the system, however, use of rule of thumb, informality and personal discretion have become too prominent in the day-to-day running of the affairs of Ibadanland from one palace to the other.
“The CCII as a proactive body has discovered the need to immediately address these issues, especially in the face of some recent events in our traditional system in order to continue to protect the homogeneity of our city.”
The statement added, “The Executive Council of the CCII has therefore decided to constitute an all Ibadan committee of erudite scholars, technocrats in chieftaincy matters, legal luminaries, etc, to look into the matter and make suggestions to the Olubadan in Council which may later present the sections of the suggestions which it may consider necessary for gazetting to the Oyo State Government as guidelines to the current Olubadan of Ibadan Chieftaincy Law.
“The Governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi, was notified of this move on 4th September, 2018 at a formal visit of the CCII executives to his office and he gave his consent.
The specific terms of reference, according to the CCII included “to lay down the criteria and qualifications for award of honorary chieftaincy titles in Ibadanland to ensure that only credible people with honest means of livelihood carry Ibadan titles.
“To come up with clear-cut position on the appointing and consenting authorities on the position of Iyaloja and Babaloja of Ibadanland and any new Oba in Ibadanland.
“To come up with a workable code of conduct to guide the relationship of other Obas in Ibadanland with the Olubadan of Ibadanland,” the statement added.
