A traditional chief in the community, Ogboye of Ilawo, Chief 'Banji Olaogun who spoke on behalf of the chiefs said imposition of candidate may lead to crisis in the community.
He said, “Relevant Chieftaincy laws and Customary laws were not strictly followed in whatever they did with that process. Before they select an Oba, the procedure of selection needs to be in tandem with what is required by customary laws and chiefs law of 2021 which states clearly that aside the town which must be carried along in a transparent manner the law emphasized the position of the Oluwo iledi of the clan in organizing and submitting the list of warrant chiefs where there is no declaration yet for the stool and particularly the local government representative being the observer in the selection of an Oba.
"The local government in this case bungled the whole process with so much incompetence and clumsiness as they unilaterally manipulated the list of warrant chiefs claiming they had gone to Alake and Osile for warrant chiefs list of an independent clan , (who had the rights), jettisoning the original list of the owners of the town headed by Oluwo Iledi and entire Ilawo council of chiefs and using another entirely different one with 6 strange names out of 9 names originally submitted by the council. This is injustice of the highest order and yet the commission is supporting this."
"They totally ignored and announce the absence of major members of the Ilawo council of chiefs, particularly Oluwo of Ilawo, Balogun of Ilawo, Jaguna and Lukotun in doing the bid of their paymaster. This is totally against the position of the tradition as there is no way you will truly consult with the Ilawo council of chiefs and not involve Oluwo of the Clan/Townahip , Balogun, Jaguna, Lukotun, Aro, of the clan in question. This is Yoruba land.
“We are capable of maintaining the rich and fair tradition of our fathers and will be grateful if the commissioner for our Chieftaincy, Ganiyu Hamzat, Local Government chairwoman, Alhaji Shuaib, and all persons who wish Orile Ilawo well will stop the plan to impose Alex Macgregor on our clan, and instead, investigate the truth of the matter, and join the Ilawo clan, particularly the council of chiefs in ensuring that this tradition of culture as embedded in our tradition from time immemorial is followed."
The community also accused the commissioner of conspiring with certain first-class traditional rulers in Egba Council to allegedly truncate the proper process an be customs required for choosing and installation of the town’s preferred candidates from Orile Ilawo.
They, however, summoned Abiodun to intervene and call the said commissioner and others to order before the anger of the people escalated.
“We hereby urge the Governor to reverse the process and order a legal review of our demands and approve our request as contained in the kingmakers’ report submitted to his office and which we believe some people have made sure the letter does not get to his desk or see the light of the day; their letters requesting for selection of the Olu of Orile Ilawo from the people of Orile Ilawos tentative ruling houses to participate in the process.”
