The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba (Engr.) Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, has denied claims that he consulted with Governor Seyi Makinde or endorsed the rotational chairmanship arrangement of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs.

The clarification follows Governor Makinde’s inauguration of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, Arusa I, as chairman of the council on Thursday. The governor had reportedly stated that the chairmanship would rotate among three prominent traditional rulers and that he had consulted them before the inauguration.

In a statement issued by the Alaafin’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Bode Durojaiye, the palace dismissed the governor’s claim, insisting that no such consultation took place.

“There was no time that His Imperial Majesty, the Alaafin of Oyo, held any meeting with either the State Governor or the other two traditional rulers mentioned on this issue,” the statement said.

The palace also clarified that the Alaafin had not endorsed a rotational chairmanship and that the Oyo community’s position had already been formally communicated to the governor via a memorandum delivered by the Oyo Council of Elders.

“The Alaafin did not tell the Governor nor make any categorical statement endorsing rotational chairmanship among the three traditional rulers in the state,” the statement added.