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THE OBANLA ROYAL DYNASTY OF IFON DEMANDS RECOGNITION AS RULING HOUSE, CALLS FOR REVIEW OF OLUFON CHIEFTAINCY DECLARATION
The Obanla Royal Family of Ifon, Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State has demanded its recognition as a Ruling House in Ifon being one of the nine male descendants of Oba Iremokun, the founder of the present reigning dynasty in the ancient town.
In a letter written on behalf of the Royal Family and signed by the Head of the family, Prince Johnbull Ayodele Obanla and the Secretary, Prince Kayode Obanla, the family traced its unlawful exclusion from the list of recognized ruling houses in the town to the making and registration of the first Olufon chieftaincy declaration by the government of the defunct western region on the 29th of March, 1968 at the instance of some unauthorized persons when the Olufon stool was vacant, following the demise of Oba Oyinbomukenwa Mabogunje 11 from the Erunogbe Ruling House in 1963.
The family pointed out that Ifon was in a period of interregnum from 1963 to 1969 and that the chieftaincy declaration that was said to have been made, approved and registered without the consent and authorization of the Olufon of Ifon, who is the prescribed authority over chieftaincy matters in Ifon Omima Kingdom, resulted to a lot of errors, inconstistencies, imbalance, distortion of facts and so many other flaws noticed in it, being one that was hurriedly and secretly packaged at that time by some unknown persons and for some unknown reasons.
It was further stated that the 1968 Olufon chieftaincy declaration was subjected to a review by the Justice Morgan chieftaincy review commission under the watch of Oba Adegbera Odogiyon as the reigning Olufon of Ifon in 1981 to give rise to a new legislation known as the approved Olufon chieftaincy declaration of 1981 as published in the Ondo State Official Gazette in July, 1981 which had reduced the seven Ruling Houses in the old chieftaincy declaration of 1968 to four.
“However, the Obanla Royal Dynasty was not called upon by the Morgan commission for the presentation of its memorandum, having been unlawfully omitted in the 1968 Olufon chieftaincy that was authored by some unknown persons under the cover of darkness in 1968”.
“The Obanla Royal Dynasty expresses shock that the 1968 that had been reviewed by the Morgan commission in 1981 was brought back and re-registered by some unknown persons again in June 1997 during the period of another interregmum in Ifon town as it happened shortly after the passing of Oba Adegbera Odogiyon in August, 1996”.
“The family consequently called upon the Ondo State Government to subject the Olufon chieftaincy declaration to a review as soon as a new Olufon gets installed, having realized that the approved 1981 Olufon chieftaincy declaration as contained in the Ondo State Government white paper issued on Morgan commission in 1981 has not been registered since then”.
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