The Olubadan Advisory Council has called a meeting with the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) and the contractor in charge of the new Ibaban Palace which is being built at Oke-Aremo in the capital of Oyo State, due to the poor progress of development. After the Council, headed by Olubadan Lekan Balogun, Alli Okunmade II, inspected the new palace project, the Otun Balogun of Ibadan land, High Chief Tajudeen Ajibola, revealed this.
The first phase of the project’s completion and the occupation of the site by the Olubadan were allegedly promised at various times by CCII, the organization that served as the umbrella for all sociocultural groups in the ancient city. However, there was no evidence to support these claims. The council expressed shock at the amount of work completed on the project, which High Chief Ajibola referred to as a “non-starter” while presenting the report. He stated that “the latest date the CCII gave as the completion date and when it would be ready for occupation by the Olubadan was last December.
Mind you, this was not the first time that a date in December had been promised. This time, Olubadan made the decision to go to the palace to see things for himself, and we went along with him. However, what we saw was in stark contrast to the promise made by the CCII through its President-General, Prince Oluyemis Adeaga. “What we seen here today did not please us. The work is a non-starter compared to the pledge to move to the palace in December, which was not feasible. At least, if at all the last December date was not feasible as we had all seen, there must be signs that, well, certain things made such impossible and one can be confident that, oh, in a couple of weeks time, the job would be completed.’’
