The Ekiti State Council of Elders has begun trouble-shooting efforts to douse the festering crisis between Governor Kayode Fayemi and 16 traditional rulers in the state under the acronym ‘Pelupelu’ over the appointment of the Alawe of Ilawe Ekiti, Oba Adebanji Alabi as chairman of the Ekiti state Council of Traditional Rulers.
The elders appealed to Governor Fayemi to find a way of resolving the log-jam with the traditional rulers to save the state from crisis and prevent the situation from being hijacked by miscreants.
Governor Fayemi a couple of weeks ago appointed Oba Alabi as chairman of the council, a decision that was opposed by the 16 aggrieved monarchs, who subsequently, filed a suit against the step at the Ado-Ekiti High Court, saying Alabi was ineligible to chair the council.
They urged the court to nullify the appointment, saying only the aboriginal traditional rulers who pioneered the council in 1887 are eligible to be chairmen.
At a press conference addressed by the Chairman of the Ekiti Council of Elders, on Thursday, Prof. Joseph Oluwasanmi, the elders appealed that the time has come for the two warring factions to sheath their swords.
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“We as senior citizens have had the opportunity of discussing with the governor once and the monarchs twice.
“Each side, we must admit quoted relevant portions of documents, ancient and recent, to support the chairmanship being extended beyond the 16.
“The problem we now face as a state is that the situation which has assumed proportions beyond anyone’s estimation must be brought down for Ekiti to be in peace and harmony.
“We refuse to visualise a situation whereby the government and traditional rulers are at loggerheads; a situation which can be exploited by miscreants.
“Looking back into history, we must consider ourselves lucky to have a political entity of our own; contestants from other parts of the country with huge financial muscles and influences failed to beat us to the game.
“We appeal to our royal fathers to continue to display maturity and remain fathers of all and custodians of our tradition and culture,” he said.