BY OLA AJAYI

IBADAN-THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Oyo State has accused Governor Abiola Ajimobi of violating the Chiefs Laws of the state by allegedly asking the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Samuel Odulana to stop convening the meeting of the crisis-ridden State Traditional Council of Obas and chiefs.

But in a swift response, the State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, chided the PDP for what he called the party’s “inflammatory, divisive and Machiavellian politics” which it said was aimed at pitching the Ibadan people against themselves and making their foes of yesterday their “emergency friends.”

Oba Odulana had assumed the chairmanship position of the council after the amendment of the law that recognised the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi as the permanent chairman of the council by the immediate past Governor of the state, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala.

The amended law stipulates that the position of chairmanship would henceforth be rotated among the Olubadan, Alaafin of Oyo and Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Jimoh Oyewumi. Olubadan had convened the maiden meeting with some of the monarchs loyal to him.

The PDP, through its Director of Media and Strategy, Mr. Morohunkola Thomas said it “ is aware that the poor Governor is acting on the directive of his political masters based in Lagos.

Thomas said it was, however, ironic that what Alao-Akala an Ogbomoso man did to respond to the long-term demand of the people of Ibadan; Ajimobi an Ibadan man had upturned it for alleged political exigencies.

“The people and leaders of Ibadanland should now know who their friend is. The respected Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes should speak up on this and call the Governor to order. Ibadan people must know that this Governor has deceived them to get power”, he alleged.

Reacting, the Publicity Secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Mr. Mathew Oyedokun, chided the PDP for what he called the party’s “inflammatory, divisive and Machiavellian politics” which he said was aimed at pitching the Ibadan people against themselves and making their foes of yesterday their “emergency friends.”

According to him, what the Ajimobi government is doing over the contentious traditional rulers institution in the state is to follow the rule of law and allow the courts to decide where the pendulum will tilt towards.

“Governor Abiola Ajimobi, on assuming office, told the whole world that his would not be a continuation of the gangsteric, man-know-man rule of impunity that he inherited, in which where the governor hailed from and his fleeting fancies decided state policies. He will not abet injustice to satisfy base sentiments. Whatever the law prescribes is what he will follow,” Oyedokun said.

The ACN spokesman urged Ibadan people and the entire people of the state to be wary of the people he called their “latter-day friends” whom he said literally sold the glory of Oyo State to the swine during their tenure and who are now turning around to advertise themselves as people’s advocates by churning out “divisive statements” aimed at turning them against their friends, the current government in Oyo State.

The PDP maintained that what the Governor had done was absolutely illegal, an abuse of office and a flagrant disrespect for the institution and the person of the Olubadan of Ibadaland.

The Governor, it added, must wait for the court judgment before taking such a step. Perhaps the Governor may also want to toe the line of his House of Assembly by arranging a visit to the United States for tutorials in democratic governance.