The people of Anni, Egbetua, Ikpena and Udurebho communities in Ososo, Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State have called on Governor Monday Okpebholo to intervene in the leadership crisis rocking the clan.
They specifically asked the governor to set up an administrative panel to look into the headship crisis, with specific reference to the leadership of the Olososo over the other communities in the clan.
The leaders of the communities made the call after an emergency meeting where they accused the Olososo, Chief Bamidele Obaitan, of not being the recognised ruler, as they said the five communities, with Okhe being the fifth one, that make up Ososo have their various chiefs.
They accused him of highhandedness and that he was interested in businesses and harassment of the people in the face of insecurity and kidnappings in the area.
After the meeting, one of the elders, Chief Aiyero Omokhojie, stated that Ososo customs and traditions ‘are older than anyone alive, and they are handed to successive generations in their pristine forms.’
He said the issue of chieftaincy conferment remained strictly a matter for the kindred, as no central authority had power to confer such titles.
Chief Peter Iduoremeh, on his part, asserted that each community in Ososo reserved the right to their lands ‘because right from time immemorial, each community is vested with the right to administer its land. This position was further confirmed by a federal high court judgment in May 2004.’
A youth who spoke on the condition of anonymity said insecurity had become pervasive in Ososo as different cult gangs continued to unleash terror on hapless residents.
When contacted, Obaitan dismissed the claim that the clan has no central authority headed by the Olososo.
‘Those people are not telling the truth. Ososo is made up of quarters that have chiefs and that form the Ososo Council of Traditional Rulers. I am the gazette paramount ruler of Ososo.
‘These are trouble makers, as every quarter has their chiefs, but I am the paramount ruler. It has always been like that from. There is no autonomous community; these people have been causing problems, and some of them are having issues with the EFCC,’ Obaitan reiterated.