Reinstated chief faces probe, says Ogun government

Abiodun Onafuye/Abeokuta

The travails of the traditional chief of Itori, Oba Fatai Akamo, in the western Nigeria state of Ogun, may not be over yet, as the Ogun state government is set to probe him over allegations of financial impropriety made against him by some chiefs in the area.

Oba Akamo was reinstated last Sunday by the state government.

The monarch was suspended in October last year following a public physical brawl that involved him and the Baale of Lapeleke, Chief Adisa Akinremi over disagreements on some issues bordering on tradition.

P.M.NEWS gathered from the government quarters at Oke Mosan that Oba Akamo now has some questions to answer over allegations of misappropriation of funds leveled against him by some Baales in his domain.

During the suspension of the monarch, some other Baales from the area had staged a public protest over his alleged financial impropriety regarding his handling of the disbursement of funds from the government meant for them.

The Ogun state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Basorun Muyiwa Oladipo has confirmed the probing, saying that, with the lifting of the suspension on the Itori monarch, allegations of financial impropriety leveled against him by the Baales could now be investigated.

The former Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly hinted that the state government could not probe the financial allegations leveled against the monarch while his suspension from office lasted,” because having withdrawn his rights and privileges as a traditional ruler, he could not have then been investigated in that capacity since he was no
longer recognized as such”.

The Commissioner however stressed that with his recent reinstatement, the state government is now in a better position to launch a probe into the allegations made by the Baales against the Itori monarch.

According to the Commissioner, “We could not do anything then on the claims by some Baale’s that the Olu of Itori misappropriated funds meant for them because the Olu of Itori was then on suspension, because then, you could not refer to him as a monarch.But now that his suspension has been lifted,now that he has been reinstated, it is now
a must that we call the Olu of Itori to respond to the allegations against him”, he stated.

Oladipo, who congratulated the monarch on his reinstatement, also expressed hope that Oba Akamo had learnt some lessons regarding his conduct in public as well as in his relationship with his subjects.

“We just believe that not only the Olu of Itori, but also all other Obas must have learnt some lessons from that. It is the ability of an Oba to manage others that will make him stand out over others. I will just advise that those that do not want him there, since he is an Oba, they should learn to accept him. They should accept and tolerate the Kabiyesi. I believe that he must have learnt some lessons and he should please preside over his community very well,” the Commissioner
advised.