KWADEF CONGRATULATES NEWLY UPGRADED OBAS, REMINDS GOVERNMENT OF OBAS OF SHAO AND JEBBA
By Olayiwiola Ibrahim // The Kwara Development Foundation, KWADEF has congratulated the newly upgraded traditional rulers who were recently upgraded by the Kwara State Government.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, approved the elevation of over 50 traditional rulers (Obas) across the state to new, higher-class statuses.
The official announcement and confirmation of these upgrades occurred on Monday, January 26, 2026.
The approval, confirmed on Monday, January 26, 2026, includes the elevation of Oba Nurudeen Alawode Yusuf, the Elemona of Ilemona, to Second-Class status.
The following royal stools were elevated to Second-Class status: Eledidi of Edidi; Oloko of Oko Land and Alala of Ala-Isin
Others elevated to Fourth-Class status: include the:Alajure of Ajure; Baale of Labisi and Baale-Oye of Oke-Oyi among others
Speaking on the development, the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs, and Community Development, Hon. Abdullahi Abubakar Bata, said the upgrades align with Governor AbdulRazaq’s commitment to rewarding peace-building efforts and strengthening grassroots security.
KWADEF is a non-partisan and our intervention has been non-partisan with focus on Kwara and Kwarans in the collective struggle to chart a new path to prosperity and happiness.
President of KWADEF, Dr, Kola Afolabi said last week that though the group congratulates the recently elevated Monarchs, the State Government should do the needful by upgrading the others particularly the Ohoro of Shao and Oba of Jebba.
The group insists that Moro local government traditional rulers have long been graded and degraded for unspecified reason or reasons.
It would be recalled that the Kwara state government during the regime of the late Governor Adamu Attah graded both Oba of jebba and Ohoro of Shao as third class chiefs in which those graded the same time are now mostly first and second class chiefs.
More so, the court judgment of Saka Adeyemi and two others versus the then Daudu of Malete who was appointed by Emir of Ilorin in case judgment on the 22 of October 1997 which specifically mentioned that the appointment is unconstitutional and that Moro Local Government is not under the illegal Ilorin emirate.
The judgment of Oba of jebba versus Emir of Ilorin referred to 1997 judgment and dismissed the suit of emir and declared Oba of jebba a constitution Oba in 2014.
In his interview with Kwara Chronicle some time ago, Dr, reuben Akano, Secretary of the Moro Redemption Network recalled that in 19997, the people of Moro got a court jugdement and by the jugement, excited Moro from Ilorin Emirate, but successive Kwara State court have failed to implement the court order.
Prince Ibrahim Adetunji Adebara, private Secretary to the Oba of Jebba in an interview recently that the issue between Ilorin and Jebba was pure enemity.
According to him If your look at the history of Ilorin, it was founded by the Yorubas and it is predominantly Yoruba town, But the rulership in Ilorin which operates an emirate system is the one giving us headache in Jebba, because they that Jebba is under Moro Local Government, which is under Ilorin, And under Ilorin Emirate systems, no traditional ruler is allowed.
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