The Osi Olubadan of Ibadanland and former governor of Oyo State, High Chief (Senator) Rashidi Ladoja, has said Senator Lekan Balogun is the most senior in line and so is the next in line to the Olubadan of Ibadan throne. Ladoja noted that the controversy trailing succession to the throne of Olubadan is needless. Ladoja made this disclosure at his Bodija residence on Thursday when the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial aspirant and senator representing Oyo Central, Senator Teslim Folarin, led APC bigwigs to pay a condolence visit to Ladoja on the death of Oba Adetunji.
According to Ladoja, “There is no controversy about it. Egbon Lekan Balogun is the most senior in our line and so he is the next in line to the throne. For those asking, my ‘body and mouth language’ is that Egbon Lekan is my senior and he is next in line to the Olubadan stool. I do not have the powers to make anybody Olubadan. In 2017, we instituted a case to challenge the needless reform that Abiola Ajimobi as the governor wanted to do.
“Almost all of us as High Chiefs and members of the Olubadan-in-Council agreed to the filing of a suit to challenge him and we gave the task to Michael Lana. Lana later called me to say some of the High Chiefs told him to remove their names from the suit, leaving only my Egbon Balogun and myself.
“Two weeks after we started the case, Egbon Balogun said he was no longer interested in the case. I asked Lana if I could do it alone and he told me ‘yes’ and we continued. So, I need people to understand that I am not causing any trouble. The cases that are in court today in respect of the Obaship tussle were instituted by Egbon Balogun and his colleagues who are still calling themselves Obas. It is they that the people should talk to. Let them go and withdraw the cases they instituted. I don’t like the unwarranted tension this matter is generating.”
