The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Senator Lekan Balogun, Alli Okunmade II, has not given his support to Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate.
The monarch and his members of the Advisory Council considered the claim to be false and self-invented in order to mislead the general public.
Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Sen. Lekan Balogun, Alli Okunmade II, said, “The claim of endorsement of the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, by the monarch and his members of Advisory Council, has drawn the attention of the palace of Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Sen. Lekan Balogun, Alli Okunmade II, a claim described as false and self-concocted one to misle
Recall that on Saturday, the LP presidential candidate and his campaign team paid Olubadan a courtesy visit, and some members of his advisory council joined them to welcome the August visitor to the monarch’s Alarere residence.
High Chiefs Owolabi Olakulehin, Tajudeen Ajibola, Lateef Gbadamosi Adebimpe, Kola Adegbola, Eddy Oyewole, and Hamidu Ajibade were there, as well as Balogun of Ibadanland, his Otun, Osi, Ashipa, Osi, and Ekerin Olubadan. High Chief Oyewole prayed for Peter Obi on his aspiration while High Chief Ajibola responded to his campaign speech.
But in the viral video that Obi’s handlers are actively disseminating, High Chief Oyewole could be heard pleading for the electoral victory of the LP.
“The palace could have ignored the report and dismissed it with a wave of the hand, but the avalanche of questions from some of our reliable media outlets seeking clarification before publishing and the need to stop the unprofessional report from trending on social media make this response necessary.
How was it possible for anyone to believe that a presidential candidate from any political party would obtain an unqualified support from a location like the palace of Olubadan? That must be an offensive joke taken too seriously. It is absurd, to put it mildly.
“While denying the Olubadan Advisory Council’s claim of endorsement, our lawmakers are urged to refrain from involving the palace in their plans. How would the candidates feel if the palace gates were sealed against them? The campaign has just begun, and the candidates’ schedules include visits to the palaces.
“Let it be underlined, for the nth time, that Olubadan and his cabinet colleagues do not and cannot belong to any political party, and that they would never, under any circumstances, publicly proclaim their preference for any candidate or political party. The Olubadan palace belongs to everyone, just as the person sitting on the elevated seat continues to be the parent of everyone.
“In the interim, I would want to applaud my professional peers and their respective media outlets who saw the peculiarity in such a claim and sought further explanations after suspending the article.
The season we are currently in does not call for excessive sensationalism, the monarch continued. “I also encourage to the social media handlers to always think twice before rushing out with news,” she continued.
