Connect with us

News

Ex-Oyo governor, Rasheed Ladoja, set to become 44th Olubadan

Published

on

OLUBADAN

 

Almost one year ago, on July 12, 2024, the late Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, ascendend to one of the highest traditional titles in Yoruba land in a grand ceremony that took place at the historic Mapo Hall.

 

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde handed Olakulehin the staff of office to be the new Olubadan and the event was witnessed by the crème-de-la-crème and the influential personalities in the country and beyond.

 

Dignitaries led by President Bola Tinubu, governors, ministers, eminent traditional rulers, captains of industries, and academics, among others, witnessed the coronation and the rest they say is history as the ancient town mourned the passing of their new king who had barely spent one year on the throne on Monday.

 

The late Olubadan of Ibadanland is the second Olubadan to rule from a befitting palace, after the famous Olubadan Yesufu Oloyede Asanike, who first lived in the old palace at Oja’ba. The ultramodern historic palace sitting magnificently on Oke-Aremo, inaugurated by Governor Seyi Makinde on Wednesday, is to be the new official residence and palace of subsequent Olubadans, starting with Oba Olakulehin.

 

Hitherto, the personal residence of the succeeding Olubadan had always served as the palace, upon ascension to the throne.

See also  Retailers, consumers lament as cooking gas price soars to N500/kg

 

To ascend the throne of Olubadan, you have to be a member of the two high-ranking principal chieftaincy lines consisting of the Balogun and Otun.

 

The Balogun (warrior) line consists of the Ekarun Balogun who’s the sixth in command, Ekerin Balogun who is the fifth in command, Ashipa Balogun who’s the fourth in command, Osi Balogun who is the third in command, Otun Balogun who is next in rank to Balogun and the Balogun himself who is the highest member of the line.

 

While the Otun (civil) line consists of Ekarun Olubadan, Ekerin Olubadan, Ashipa Olubadan, Osi Olubadan, and the Otun Olubadan as the highest-ranking member in the line.

 

The late Olakulehin was from the Balogun line and he waited 38 years to ascend the throne after becoming Jagun Balogun.

 

The next Olubadan will now switch to the Otun line where former Oyo State governor, Rasheed Ladoja, is the highest-ranking member.

 

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE EMERGING OLUBADAN

1. Ladoja was born September 24, 1944 in Gambari area of Ibadan.

2. He attended Ibadan Boys High School between 1958–1963 and Olivet Baptist High School between 1964 and 1965. He further studied at the University of Liège, Belgium between 1966 and 1972 where he earned a degree in chemical engineering.

See also  Yahaya Bello is like a father to me — I won’t betray him, says Ododo

3. He was elected to the Nigerian Senate in 1993 during the short-lived Nigerian Third Republic, where he happened to be a member of the United Nigeria Congress Party during the Abacha Political Transition.
4. In 2000, Ladoja rose to the position of director at Standard Trust Bank Limited.

5. Ladoja was elected governor of Oyo State in April 2003 on the PDP platform, and took office on 29 May 2003.

6. His emergence was supported by the late Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu, a PDP power broker in the state.

7. In August 2004, Ladoja and Adedibu were locked in a fierce struggle over allocation of government appointees and this led to his struggle in both the party through which he emerged and governance in the state.

8. On 12 January 2006, Ladoja was impeached by Oyo State legislators and forced out of office. His deputy, Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala, was sworn in as the new governor.

9. On 1 November 2006, the Appeal Court in the state capital, Ibadan, declared the impeachment null and illegal, but advised waiting for confirmation of this decision by the Supreme Court. However, the apex court upheld the decision on 11 November 2006, and Ladoja officially resumed office on 12 December 2006.

See also  Kingmakers ratify Lekan Balogun as Olubadan

10. In the next election, Ladoja failed to win the PDP nomination as candidate for a second term. He chose to back the Action Congress candidates for 33 local council chairmanship elections.

11. On 28 August 2008, Ladoja was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of non-remittance of the proceeds of sale of government shares totaling N1.9 billion during his administration

12. He was briefly remanded in prison by the Federal High Court in Lagos on 30 August 2008 and was granted bail on 5 September, in the amount of N100 million with two sureties for the same sum

13. Again, Ladoja was the governorship candidate for Accord party in Oyo State during the April 2011 and 2015 elections and he lost to Senator Abiola Ajimobi.

14. He took a break from politics after defecting to ADC and finally ZLP in 2018 to face his traditional chieftaincy.

15. On August 12, 2024, the late Olakulehin, formally presented the ceremonial beaded crown to High Ladoja, a crown he had formerly rejected during ex-Oyo governor, Abiola Ajimobi’s administration.

 

 

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Relief as suspected Ebola cases in Adamawa tested negative

Published

on

By

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said that there are currently no laboratory-confirmed cases of Ebola  in Adamawa.

The NCDC had on Saturday said that there were two suspected cases of Ebola in the north-east state, adding that the individuals had been isolated while contact identification was ongoing.

But in a statement on Sunday, the director-general of NCDC, Jide Idris,
said samples collected from the two individuals, who had symptoms suggestive of Ebola, tested negative after two rounds of testing.

“The report was received by the Adamawa State Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) in the early hours of 30 October 2026, following the identification of two individuals presenting with symptoms suggestive of Ebola, requiring further investigation,” the statement reads.

“Hence the alert that was released early this evening. The individuals have been isolated, and appropriate public health measures have been initiated.

“Samples were collected for laboratory testing to establish the cause of the illness. Fortunately, the samples turned out negative for EBV after two rounds of testing.”

See also  Kingmakers ratify Lekan Balogun as Olubadan

Idris commended the Adamawa health commissioner and his team for their “proactive approach”, adding that the NCDC was working closely with the state government to investigate the report of suspected Ebola cases.

“Currently, there is no laboratory-confirmed Ebola case in Adamawa state,” he said.

“The index case previously confirmed in the Federal Capital Territory remains the only confirmed case reported in Nigeria to date.”

He urged the public to remain calm and avoid sharing unverified information or speculating about the situation.

“The public is encouraged to obtain information from official government and public health communication channels,” he said.

Idris described Ebola as a serious infectious disease that requires prompt identification, appropriate clinical management and effective infection prevention and control measures.

“Anyone experiencing symptoms such as fever, severe weakness, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea or unexplained bleeding, particularly following relevant exposure, should seek immediate medical attention and inform healthcare workers of any relevant travel or contact history,” he said.

See also  BREAKING: Olubadan buried as deputy gov, others pay tribute

“Individuals should avoid self-medication and follow the advice of healthcare professionals.”

Nigeriaconfirmed its first Ebola case in more than a decade on October 20, after a 42-year-old Swiss woman tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain in Abuja.

The patient, who had travelled from Uganda to Nigeria, was subsequently isolated and treated by Nigerian health workers.

On Monday, the federal governmentevacuated the patient to Switzerland aboard a medical plane.

Her husband, who was identified as a close contact, was also evacuated to Switzerland.

Ali Pate, coordinating minister of health and social welfare, said the patient was clinically much improved, stable, conscious and communicating, with her laboratory test results approaching baseline levels.

Continue Reading

News

Good morning! Nigerian Newspapers Headlines: 2027: S’West ADC leaders revolt against Atiku

Published

on

By

1. Many leaders of the African Democratic Congress in the South-West have expressed dissatisfaction with what they described as the marginalisation of the party’s structure in the region by the ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

The ADC leaders, including some state chairmen and governorship candidates, alleged that Atiku had been conducting his political activities in the region through his friends and allies, while leaving the party structure sidelined as presidential campaign activities prepared to gather momentum.

2. A United States federal court has rejected an attempt to obtain discovery from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and DCI Group in an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). 

3. The Zamfara State Commissioner of Police, CP Muhammad Bello, has confirmed the “rescue of three of the six Islamic clerics kidnapped on September 12 while travelling to Talata Mafara, Zamfara State.” Bello gave the confirmation in an interview with select reporters in Gusau. He said the rescue followed a multi-agency collaboration and seamless synergy between the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, the Department of State Services, DSS, and police operatives.

See also  Nigerians are suffering, Olubadan tells Tinubu

4. The Grand Patron of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, and the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, have set a target of at least 1.5 million votes for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election. According to a statement, the target was announced on Saturday in Osogbo during the inauguration of the movement’s state and local government structures.

5. Nigerians lose no less than N75bn annually to visa application expenses across foreign missions, with rejected Schengen visa applications alone accounting for an estimated €11.5m, equivalent to about N19bn in 2025.
This is according to a visa-cost analysis report obtained by Sunday PUNCH from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

6. With one accord, the governors of Enugu, Imo, Ebonyi, and Anambra States yesterday urged the people of the Southeast to avoid political distractions, and vote massively for President Bola Tinubu in next year’s presidential election. Governors Peter Mbah, Hope Uzodimma, Francis Nwifuru and Charles Soludo, said it was necessary for the zone to support Tinubu’s re-election bid to enable him consolidate the gains of his administration’s economic reforms

See also  Delta community head, four suspects arrested over alleged sexual assault during festival

7. Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has said Nigeria’s security challenges predate the administration of President Bola Tinubu, noting that terrorism, insurgency and banditry had been entrenched in the country before 2023 when Tinubu assumed office. He said the country’s security problems were rooted in years of porous borders, illegal arms proliferation, youth unemployment and the spread of extremist ideologies.

8. Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike has directed supporters of President Bola Tinubu to deliver their polling unit in the forthcoming 2027 general elections. Addressing the supporters, Wike framed the upcoming general elections as a critical opportunity for residents of the nation’s capital to rectify past electoral missteps and unite under a strategic development banner.

9. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has removed the name of the Kano State governorship candidate of the National Democratic Congress, NDC, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, from its updated list of candidates for the 2027 general elections. A check on the commission’s website shows that the names of Gwarzo and his deputy were conspicuously missing from the updated list.

See also  Breaking: Supreme Court dismisses PDP’s suit challenging alleged ‘double nomination’ of Shettima

10. Four young men have been arrested by the Bauchi State Police Command for allegedly abducting and gang-raping a 12-year-old girl in Sakwa District, Zaki Local Government Area of the state. The suspects were arrested following a complaint by the victim’s 50-year-old father, who reported the incident at the Sakwa Divisional Police Headquarters on Thursday.

Continue Reading

News

Wale Tinubu, Rabiu, others Join President Tinubu in Makkah for Umrah

Published

on

By

The Group Chief Executive Oando Plc, Jubril Adewale Tinubu; Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, and several other Nigerian business mogul have joined President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, for the performance of Umrah, the lesser Islamic pilgrimage.

The presence of the prominent Nigerian business leaders alongside the President in the holy city has drawn attention, bringing together three influential figures from Nigeria’s political and business communities in a moment of religious observance.

Tinubu and Rabiu, both prominent names in Nigeria’s corporate landscape, were seen alongside the President dressed in the traditional white Ihram garments worn by Muslim pilgrims performing Umrah.

Umrah, unlike the obligatory Hajj pilgrimage, can be undertaken at any time of the year. It involves a series of religious rites in Makkah and holds profound spiritual significance for Muslims across the world.

For the Nigerian business community, the appearance of the corporate leaders alongside the President also offers a glimpse into the intersection of faith, business and public life, particularly when influential figures come together outside the usual settings of boardrooms, corporate engagements and official functions.

See also  Abbas sworn in as House of Reps speaker

The development comes as President Tinubu undertook the pilgrimage to seek divine guidance and offer prayers for Nigeria’s peace, unity, stability and progress.

According to the Presidency, the President performed the Umrah rites early Friday, October 30, at the Grand Mosque, Masjid al-Haram, where he circumambulated the Holy Ka’abah.

Speaking after completing the spiritual exercise, Tinubu described the pilgrimage as significant, linking it to his commitment to Nigeria and its people. He also expressed gratitude to Allah for the opportunity to pray for the country.

The President’s prayers reportedly centre on national harmony, security, economic prosperity and the need for Nigerians to live together peacefully.

Rabiu also used the occasion to express his hopes for the country, describing it as an honour to accompany the President on the spiritual journey. He prayed for lasting peace, unity and prosperity in Nigeria.

For Tinubu, whose Oando Group occupies a prominent position in Nigeria’s energy industry, the journey offered a departure from the familiar world of corporate leadership and business engagements. Rabiu, similarly, is a major player in the country’s industrial sector, with interests spanning manufacturing, cement and food production.

See also  BREAKING: Olubadan buried as deputy gov, others pay tribute

Their appearance in Makkah alongside the President underscores the presence of leading figures from Nigeria’s private sector at an important spiritual moment for the country’s leader.

Umrah, often described as the lesser pilgrimage, is a significant act of worship in Islam. Unlike Hajj, which takes place during a specific period in the Islamic calendar, Umrah can be performed throughout the year.

President Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria next week after completing his spiritual engagements in Saudi Arabia.

Continue Reading

Trending News