Thursday, 8 October 2015

Ooni: Crisis brews in Giesi family over screening committee

Crisis appears brewing within the Giesi Ruling House of Ife, Osun Stat, over the composition of screening committee set up by the family to pick candidates to be presented to the kingmakers for selection as the Ooni of Ife.
Our correspondent gathered on Thursday that there was rumbling over the four names selected by the Prof. Adekanye Aderibigbe-led committee because they were said to be from Agbedegbede Ruling Family of Giesi only.
The remaining six royal families within Giesi, in a letter written to the kingmakers, protested the exclusion of candidates from their families from the list of names forwarded to the kingmakers. 
The protest letter read in part, “Following  the recent receipt of the letters from the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, dated 14th September, 2015, and letter from Ife-East Local Government dated 16th September, 2015, we, the undersigned representatives from the royal compounds from Giesi Ruling House, come together to protest the following anomaly.
“The composition of the screening committee did not reflect the representatives of the entire royal compounds  that constituted Giesi Ruling House, as all members of the committee came from only Agbedegbede Royal Compound to make the committee look as if it is only Agbedegbede alone that constituted Giesi Ruling House.
“List of the contestants from different royal compounds within the Giesi Royal House were not made known to all royal compounds concerned or the public.
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“The criteria for screening were not spelt out for all and sundry to be abreast or appraised. History concerning other royal compounds within the Giesi Ruling House has been distorted to pave way for Agbedegbede alone to present candidate(s) to the vacant stool of Ooni of Ife.”
However, the Obalufe of Iremo, Ife, who is also the head of the kingmakers, when contacted on the telephone asked our correspondent to call back.
He said, “I am in prayer mood now. I have not gone to the secretariat, you can call me back.” 
One of the contestants from Giesi, who is also the Laroka of Wanikin-Ife, Oba Kole Ojutalayo, said he was not aware of the protest when contacted on the telephone by our correspondent. 
Efforts to confirm the crisis from  the Secretary of Giesi Ruling House, Adelowo Ogunleye, were  unsuccessful.
Calls put across to Ogunleye’s telephone by our correspondent did not connect.

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