Olubadan Inaugurated As First Chairman Of New Oyo State Council Of Obas And Chiefs

Governor Seyi Makinde on Thursday inaugurated the new Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs in Ibadan, unveiling a rotational chairmanship among three of the state’s leading traditional rulers.

The ceremony, held at the House of Chiefs Hall, State Secretariat, Ibadan, saw the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, Arusa I, appointed as the council’s first chairman for a two-year term.

Notably absent from the event was the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, one of the state’s foremost monarchs.

The inauguration follows the passage of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs (Further Amendments) Bill, 2025, by the State House of Assembly, a law designed to strengthen traditional institutions in the state.

Explaining the rotational chairmanship, Governor Makinde said, “I called the monarchs and proposed in the law that the chairmanship of the Council of Obas will rotate every two years. This is our tradition. But when we sit down, if we don’t resolve issues and do what is right and proper for our people, then we have failed.

“So, I consulted my three fathers—the Alaafin of Oyo, the Olubadan of Ibadanland, and the Soun of Ogbomosoland—and the agreement is that the rotation will start with Kabiyesi, the Olubadan of Ibadan. On that basis, I hereby pronounce the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs inaugurated.”

Under the amended law, the council’s chairmanship will rotate every two years among the Alaafin of Oyo, the Olubadan of Ibadanland, and the Soun of Ogbomosoland.

Oba Ladoja, a former Oyo State governor, became the 44th Olubadan of Ibadanland in September 2025 following the death of Oba Owolabi Olakulehin.