Community leaders and Baales (traditional chiefs) in Oluyole local government have expressed displeasure at the behavior of the Executive Chairman, Hon. Olaide Settle.
The angry Baales and Chiefs described as dubious, the way and manner they were abandoned by Hon. Settle at the Council Registry Hall after inviting them to a private meeting at New Garage, in Ibadan on Thursday, July 20.
Chairman of the 51 Baales Forum in Oluyole and the Public Relation Officer (PRO), Chief Suara Okesola, Baale of Orileodo, and Muniru Inaolaji Azeez, Baale of Ifesowapo Adaramogbo, made this known to journalists on Thursday in Ibadan.
While speaking to journalists shortly after leaving the LG registry, the Baales narrated that while waiting for Hon. Settle to show up and explain the purpose of their invitation, the Baales who had arrived at the meeting slated for 10 am by 8:30 am were stuck in the hall for several hours.
However, having lost their patience after several hours of waiting, some of the Baales eventually left in disappointment after waiting for several hours.
The Chairman and PRO of the Oluyole Baales’ Forum, however, waited to know the purpose of their invitation by Hon. Settle.
Following their disappointment at Hon. Settle’s nonappearance at the Council registry for the scheduled meeting, the Baales having lost their patience left and reassembled at Sawmill Hall located at New Garage, to voice vent their displeasure and frustration.s
Speaking, the Baales said they were very unhappy with the manner Hon. Settle treated them at the venue of the earlier scheduled meeting and that they would not have honored the invitation if they knew the invitation was motivated by selfish political interests.
According to the Baales, during the 2023 governorship election, they threw their weight behind Governor Makinde which culminated in an overwhelming victory especially in Oluyole local government adding that they would also support Akeem Olatunji as the next executive chairman of Oluyole local government as the choice of the majority of the people, particularly his co-aspirants.
“We are in line with whatever decision is taken by Governor Makinde and will never be violent or go against the wish of the governor.
“Our support is not for monetary gain but rather to protect the interest of Governor Makinde in Oluyole just like we also did by supporting the Governor, Chief Ilaka, Hon Mogbonjubola & Hon Akintayo in the last 2023 election.
“Our vote is always for the governor. We will never be an enemy of his good governance. We know that his government is the government of the people and as such, we will always support anyone with the majority support of our people in Oluyole.
“We know that Akeem Olatunji has always been a good man even though we often hear him on air defending and promoting the good governance of Governor Seyi Makinde.
“So, we can assure you once again that the entire Baales of Oluyole are fully in support of Akeem Olatunji as the consensus chairmanship candidate of Oluyole local government. He has done a lot in his capacity and we feel it is the right time to empower him to do more as the next Executive Chairman.” Baale Alata who also spoke with journalists, stated.
