The chairmanship of the council is set to rotate among the three leading traditional rulers in the state.
Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, has commented on the ongoing debate over supremacy among the three leading monarchs in Oyo State, the Olubadan of Ibadan, the Alaafin of Oyo, and the Soun of Ogbomosoland.
Ajayi said, “We are no longer in the era of Oyo Empire. Rome and United Kingdom that once ruled more than half of the world as empires can no longer claim sovereignty over the former colonies.
“Times have changed. We are now in a new world. Oyo Empire now belongs to history and the whole of what we now know as Yorubaland was never under the rule of Alaafin. The society will function well if the current natural rulers in Yorubaland understand their roles in modern society.”
“Our kings should now work collaboratively to preserve peace, unity and development in their communities whilst preserving our cultural values,” he added.
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, one of the foremost monarchs in the state, was notably absent when Governor Seyi Makinde inaugurated a new Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs in Ibadan on Thursday.
The chairmanship of the council is set to rotate among the three leading traditional rulers in the state.
The inauguration, held at the House of Chiefs Hall, State Secretariat, Ibadan, saw the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, Arusa I, appointed as the inaugural chairman of the council for a two-year term.
Governor Makinde stated that the chairmanship will rotate between the Olubadan, the Alaafin of Oyo, and the Soun of Ogbomosoland, with each leader serving a two-year term, and that the three monarchs were consulted before the inauguration.
However, the Alaafin of Oyo’s Palace denied that Oba Akeem Owoade I had any consultations with Governor Makinde or endorsed the rotational chairmanship arrangement.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the Alaafin’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Bode Durojaiye, the Palace clarified that it had been drawn to comments attributed to the governor suggesting that the Alaafin, the Olubadan, and the Soun of Ogbomosoland had been consulted prior to the inauguration.
“The attention of the Alaafin’s Palace has been drawn to a statement credited to His Excellency, Governor Seyi Makinde, that he consulted with the three traditional rulers in the state on the rotational chairmanship of the State Council of Obas and Chiefs,” the statement said.
The Palace firmly rejected the claim, stating that no such meeting or consultation occurred.
“There was no time that His Imperial Majesty, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba (Engr.) Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, held any meeting with either the State Governor or any of the two traditional rulers mentioned on this issue,” it stated.
The Palace further stated that the Alaafin never expressed support for a rotational chairmanship of the council, saying, “The Alaafin did not tell the Governor nor make any categorical statement endorsing rotational chairmanship among the three traditional rulers in the state.”
The statement noted that the position of the Alaafin and the Oyo community regarding the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs had already been formally communicated to the governor.
Meanwhile, ahead of the inauguration, a video involving the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Owoade, and the Olubadan Senator Ladoja, circulated online, sparking renewed public debate.
The footage, recorded during the 2026 Inter-Faith service at the Secretariat’s Grand Space behind the Oyo State House of Assembly in Ibadan, showed the Alaafin extending his hand in greeting to the Olubadan while seated, but Oba Ladoja appeared to snub the gesture shortly after exchanging pleasantries with the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Afolabi Ghandi Olaoye.