Group to Akeredolu: Apologise to Idanre monarch over land dispute

A group, Club 66 Idanre, has cautioned the governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, for the “unguarded” words used to denigrate the Owa of Idanre Kingdom, Oba Fredrick Adegunle Aroloye, following a peaceful protest by the community over the alleged taking over of the forest reserve in the area by some companies.

The club, in a statement issued on Thursday by its president, Dr. Anthony Omolola, urged Governor Akeredolu to apologise for the “invective” words used on the revered traditional ruler.

According to him, the reports of the governor’s insult and threat on the 96-year-old monarch during a phone conversation over the issue of Idanre forest reserve forcefully harnessed and allegedly sold to some companies and people by the state government was an affront to all the people in the community.

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Omolola said Akeredolu, as a Yoruba son, should have been modest and diplomatic while talking to elders and traditional rulers who are the custodian of the people’s culture, heritage, and values.

He said: “An insult on the Kabiyesi, the Owa of Idanre Kingdom is an insult on Idanre People and we will in all it’s entirety reject such.

“We believe that the ancestral land/forest of the people can not be shared or allocated to groups or companies without the proper discussion and agreement with Kabiyesi, Community leaders and the people who are the custodian of the land/forest,considering the socio, cultural,moral and economic implications.

“We demand from His Excellency, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, unreserved apology to our Kabiyesi,” the club president stated.

The Star