Ooni–Alaafin Feud: Traditional Rulers’ Powers End At LG Level – Ex-Governor's Aide Says

Doyin Odebowale, former Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties to the late Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, has stated that the authority of traditional rulers does not extend beyond the local government level.

Odebowale said this while faulting the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, over his demand that the Ooni of Ife revoke a chieftaincy title conferred on an Ibadan businessman.

The ex-aide made this statement on Wednesday, while responding to an interview on ‘The Morning Brief’, a programme on Channels Television.

He argued that traditional rulers derived their powers only within their local government areas and were not superior to elected officials at that level.

“With respect to most of these rulers now, there is a misapprehension of roles. They want to be addressed as kabiyesi, but they are not.

“They are under the local government chairman in their respective localities. So this idea of somebody sitting in Oyo and legislating on what happens in Ile-Ife is a misnomer,” Odebowale said.

According to him, the Alaafin must have been misled into believing there was a jurisdictional dispute between his office and that of the Ooni.

Odebowale attributed the recurring tussles among traditional rulers to “permissive decadence” in the system.