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Priscilla Ediare, Ado Ekiti
Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has said the autonomy recently granted to five communities in the state had followed due process and was done in consultation with relevant stakeholders.
The governor said the local autonomy was granted in consonance with appropriate laws, principles of fairness and justice after being recommended by the Justice Jide Aladejana-led Chieftaincy Review Commission and endorsed by the State Executive Council.
Fayemi made the disclosure on Saturday while presenting the staff of office and instrument of appointment to Oba Matthew Ajayi Elejogun, the first Asaya of Isaya Ekiti, Ekiti East Local Government, Area, one of the new autonomous communities.
Represented by Deputy Governor Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, the governor congratulated Oba Elejogun for emerging as the first monarch of the community which he said was not by happenstance but an act of providence.
A statement signed by the Special Assistant (Media) to the Deputy Governor, Odunayo Ogunmola, explained that Isaya Ekiti indigenes at the coronation ceremony showered encomiums on Fayemi for counting their community worthy of the autonomy.
The Chairman of the State Council of Traditional Rulers who also doubles as the Alawe of Ilawe-Ekiti, Oba Adebanji Ajibade Alabi, led other monarchs from other communities to the ceremony.
Giving the new royal father recipes for success in his royal duties, Fayemi stressed that the responsibilities of developing the town and leading his subjects to the Promised Land now rested on his shoulders.
The governor pointed out that the traditional ruler, by his installation, has become the custodian of custom and tradition of Isaya people.
Fayemi admonished the new monarch to see himself as the father, the adviser, the judge, the mediator, the protector of custom and the rallying point for all his subjects.
“It is important for me to state here and for our people to understand that all processes leading to the granting of autonomy to deserving communities in Ekiti State were carried out with adequate consultations with all relevant stakeholders
“Recourse was made to the appropriate laws in a manner that was purely objective and based on the principles of fairness and justice.
“I urge you to love the town and its dwellers. Consult your people on all important issues so that you can win their confidence for the collective development of the community.
“To the sons and daughters of Isaya Ekiti, both at home and in the diaspora, I advise you to cooperate with the Kabiyesi in order to bring the needed development to this town,” the governor’s statement read.
The Permanent Secretary, Bureau of Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Adeniyi Familoni, noted that the grant of autonomy to Isaya which culminated in the coronation was devoid of bias and sentiment.
Familoni enjoined the community to reciprocate the gesture by being loyal to the government of the day and contribute their quota to peace and development of the state.
Speaking after being handed the sceptre of authority, Oba Elejogun pledged to serve the community and work for its physical, social and economic development.
The monarch appealed to Governor Fayemi to come to the aid of the new town to address the needs of the people.
Oba Elejogun identified the needs of his kingdom to include: stable electricity, sitting of industrial projects and a tertiary institution, security of lives and property, among others.
The Asaya promised to cooperate with his counterparts in the neighbouring communities to ensure the maintenance of peace, harmony and tranquillity.
