By Ola Ajayi, Ibadan

AS the crisis within the Yoruba Council of Elders continues, the President of the council, Col. Dansaaki S. Ade Agbede (retd) has said the embattled Secretary- General of the council, Dr Kunle Olajide was suspended because of “public disgrace he opened the association to during the recently-concluded security summit held in Ibadan.”

Kunle Olajide

When S’West Security Summit went awry(Opens in a new browser tab)

While advising the suspended Secretary-General not to take the matter personal, he said it was not him as a person that suspended him but the decision made by senior elders of the council.

“If you were at the recently- concluded security summit held in Ibadan by the South- West governors, you would see how he publicly disgraced himself. YCE had instructed its representative to make its contributions. He came up and started struggling to collect microphone. Even if I am an acting President, is he saying he, as the secretary- general, is greater than the P-president?

“It wasn’t I that suspended him. It was the public disgrace that made the elders of the association to suspend him indefinitely. He is only trying to blackmail me and I don’t see why he is doing that.”

He noted further that the scribe of the council had allegedly done so many “abominable things” that a normal Yoruba person would not do.

While speaking with Vanguard in a telephone interview, the acting president said this would be the second time that Dr Olajide would incur the wrath of YCE.

He hinted further that the elders of the council are already reviewing his case and this he said, would continue for two to three weeks after which the final decision would be taken.

When asked if this could lead to expulsion, he simply said he would not want to preempt the decision of the elders.

Col. Agbede said: “I don’t want to preempt the elders. There are so many charges waiting for him. The charges are so weighty that any right thinking organisation would not want to have such a person in its midst. We are gifted old people and he doesn’t fit in. He doesn’t belong to the organisation. This is the second time. “During the time of General Adeyinka Adebayo, he took the council to court. He collected documents on behalf of the council “behind our back.

“Everybody in YCE is fed up with him. So, it’s not a personal decision. We suspect strongly that he is being used to destroy YCE. Why is he now running helter skelter?”he asked.

“In Yoruba land, we respect our elders. But he doesn’t respect elders. He was suspended because of gross misconduct,” he said.

Vanguard