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Lukman Gbadegesin: New Alaafin Selected By Oyo Kingmakers

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Lukman Gbadegesin: New Alaafin Selected By Oyo Kingmakers

Lukman Gbadegesin: New Alaafin Selected By Oyo Kingmakers By Abdulrahman Abdulmalik

 

 

 

The Oyo Mesi, a group of kingmakers, selected a new Alaafin of Oyo last year to replace the late Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, who passed away in April 2022, according to documents obtained by PREMIUM TIMES.

 

 

 

Nearly 18 months since the throne became vacant, there has not been an official announcement of a new monarch by the Oyo State Government, with many blaming the kingmakers for delaying the selection process.

 

 

Lukman Gbadegesin: New Alaafin Selected By Oyo Kingmakers

 

 

However, a proclamation document and a court judgment seen by this newspaper have now shown that the Oyo Mesi selected Lukman Gbadegesin and forwarded the name of the prince from the Agunloye Ruling House to the government since last year.

 

 

“We hereby proclaim Prince Lukman Adelodun Gbadegesin the new Alaafin,” the proclamation reads, signed by the five living Oyo Mesi members and two warrant chiefs selected by the government to replace deceased Oyo Mesi members.

 

 

 

The kingmakers said they received a list of 82 aspiring princes from the Baba Iyaji of Oyo, the head of all princes, Mukaila Afonja. By Oyo tradition and the Alaafin Chieftaincy Declaration, Baba Iyaji is empowered to collect the names of aspiring princes from the next ruling house and transmit them to the Bashorun, the head of Oyo Mesi.

 

 

 

The Bashorun would then convene a meeting of the kingmakers to take a vote and the prince with simple majority is to be proclaimed Alaafin.

 

 

 

 

As the proclamation shows, all the kingmakers signed for Mr Gbadegesin, whose grandfather, Alaafin Bello Gbadegesin Ladigbolu II, was the predecessor of the immediate past Alaafin Adeyemi III.

 

 

 

The proclamation was signed on September 30, 2022. According to the law, an aspirant or the ruling house has 21 days to petition the government to challenge the selection. But no such petition was written.

 

 

 

However, after the expiration of the 21-day window, a prince, Hakeem Ladigbolu, approached the court to set aside the selection process. But in a judgment given on December 19, 2023, an Oyo State High Court in Oyo Town, upheld the process leading to the selection of Mr Gbadegesin, court papers show.

 

 

 

However, despite the proclamation by the Oyo Mesi and the court judgment upholding the process, the government has yet to make a formal announcement, giving rise to concern that political interests might want to undermine the Oyo Mesi and foist another person on the ancient Yoruba town.

 

 

 

When contacted, the Bashorun of Oyo, Yusuf Akinade, confirmed the process has been concluded.

 

 

 

He, however, refused to disclose the name of the prince selected. Instead, he said, “we have submitted everything to the government, direct all other questions to the government, but we have completed the process.”

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Northern Leaders Revolt: No Guarantee Tinubu Gets 2027 Presidency

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Northern Leaders Revolt: No Guarantee Tinubu Gets 2027 Presidency

Northern Leaders Revolt: No Guarantee Tinubu Gets 2027 Presidency

Pro-North socio-political organization, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), and prominent voices across the northern region have declared that President Bola Tinubu cannot count on their support for re-election in 2027.

The pushback came after the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, called on northern politicians to step aside until 2031 to allow Tinubu to complete a second term. Ganduje, addressing a delegation at the APC National Secretariat, argued it was only fair for Tinubu to follow in the footsteps of a northern predecessor who served two full terms.

“Our president has come from the south and is going, Insha Allah, for a second term come 2027,” Ganduje said. “After that, it will be the North’s turn.”

However, the ACF firmly rejected Ganduje’s stance. National Publicity Secretary Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba likened Ganduje’s statement to promoting a “cult of personality,” noting voters cannot be coerced. “It’s up to the voters to endorse, reject, or modify what Ganduje said,” Muhammad-Baba remarked. “In 2015, we were sold on anti-corruption. In 2023, ‘Renewed Hope’ turned into a nightmare. What will matter for Tinubu is his policies and their impact.”

Former Kaduna State governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai expressed similar sentiments, warning Tinubu could face a political mutiny akin to the “Goodluck Jonathan treatment.” El-Rufai shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) claiming that relations between Tinubu and the North have soured just two years into his presidency.

Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, who has declared his presidential ambition for 2027, dismissed Ganduje’s remarks as “silly.” His commissioner, Maiwada Bello, rallied youths to support Mohammed’s campaign, touting his administration’s record of appointing more youths to key positions than any other governor.

Meanwhile, Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, criticized Tinubu’s policies for turning northern Nigeria into a “refugee camp.” Lawal vowed to help unseat Tinubu in 2027, asserting, “The North is mobilizing with a consensus that Tinubu must give way. If we continue with these policies for another four years, northern Nigeria will collapse.”

Despite Ganduje’s insistence on unity, political fractures appear inevitable. Lawal concluded, “We need a leader who understands one Nigeria. The North and its elites will make sure Tinubu doesn’t have a second chance.”

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Bill For Research Trust Fund Scales Second Reading At Lagos Assembly

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Bill For Research Trust Fund Scales Second Reading At Lagos Assembly

Bill For Research Trust Fund Scales Second Reading At Lagos Assembly

 

The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Princess Mojisola Lasbat Meranda, has committed a bill to establish the State’s research trust fund to a sub-committee of the House.

 

Meranda also emphasised the need for tertiary institutions in the state to partake in effective research works for the benefit of the state.

This was as the bill, sponsored by a member of the House, Hon. Gbolahan Yishawu, scaled second reading on the floor of the House.

The proposed law is aimed at creating a ‘state research trust fund for the allocation, management and administration of the trust fund and for connected purposes’.

Supporting the bill, lawmakers praised the sponsor and noted that it would help advance the state.

Yishawu told his colleagues that the bill was important as it would help drive innovation, economic growth, and technological advancement in the state.

According to him, Lagos, as Nigeria’s economic hub, cannot afford to lag in scientific and technological development.

He argued that a well-structured research and development funding system would enhance governance, stimulate industrialisation, and position the state as a leader in innovation.

He also stressed that the bill, when passed, would touch every facet of Lagos.

Dissecting the bill, some of the lawmakers raised concerns over taxation but agreed that the bill was important.

Hon. Noheem Adams stressed that funding would help to provide a veritable opportunity for researchers to come up with results that help societies.

According to him, when Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, “it would have been difficult to visualize that a day would come when we will all have a handset in our pockets.”

The ad-hoc committee is expected to fine-tune the bill ahead of further processes leading to its passage.

Signed:
Media Office Of The Rt. Hon. Speaker

Bill For Research Trust Fund Scales Second Reading At Lagos Assembly

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Crisis Looms in APC ….As Elected National Deputies demands for equity, justice and sense of belonging…

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Crisis Looms in APC

….As Elected National Deputies demands for equity, justice and sense of belonging…

 

All seems not to be well in the ruling party, Apc at the National level due to alleged injustice melted out to some elected National deputies of the Party.

Recently some NWC and NEC members were offered appiontment in some Parastals, to the utmost suprise of everybody some of the elected Deputies were left out.

According to a reliable source, this injustice has been on going since they were elected, they were not giving housing or car allowances like thier colleagues, Most Affected are the following

-Deputy National Legal adviser
-Deputy National Youth Leader
-Deputy National Treasurer
-Deputy National Auditor
-Deputy National Welfare officer are not also members of the NWC,
while some National Deputies are members.

The following elected National Officers were also left out in the last appointments announced.
The National Ex-Officio South-West
National Ex-Officio South+South
National Ex-Officio North-Central
National Ex-Officio South-East
National Ex-Officio North- West
National Ex-Officio North East

Worst of it all happened During the last Christmas and new year celebrations,were NWC members shared 20 bags each to themselves without even giving the Non NWC National Officers any. They weren’t given other items that were shared like their colleagues got. They see it as greed on the part of their colleagues in NWC.
They also did not benefit from the Housing and vehicle allowances their fellow colleagues in NWC gave themselves.

If not for the respect they have for Mr president by now they would have Been protests,.

A reliable source informed us that the Non NWC Deputies together with the Ex officio are planning for a Show-down next week if their demands are not met promptly.

They claim they all worked for the emergence of Mr President and were also elected the same day as their colleagues who got appointments as Chairman of Federal Government agencies and wondered why the National Chairman of their party APC did not forward their names to Mr President for Federal appointments.

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