Chief Kehinde Osanyingbemi, the embatteld chief priest of Itapa Ekiti town, Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State, has been reabsorbed following the directive of the State Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye.
Osanyingbemi was said to have been deposed by the Monarch of Itapa Ekiti, Oba David Ajaja, following accusations of defiling the Owatapa stool in a manner that desecrated the traditional institution.
Osanyingbemi,s exact offence is yet to be revealed but Vice Governor Afuye, in a motherly fashion, stepped in to restore order by reversing the sanction and ordering Chief Osanyingbemi to tender a public apology to the Monarch.
In a commendable move to brokering truce, Vice Govenor Afuye emphasised that no community thrives in the midst of tension amongst its traditional rulers. Speaking through her Special Assistant on Media, Victor Ogunje, Afuye further stated:
“Peace is very paramount to Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s administration, because it is the bedrock of development and everybody must key into this peace- building agenda
“There is no town where people are frequently removed as traditional chiefs that can witness peace. It is not always the right way to settle scores. I appeal to Owatapa to forgive whatever the chief must have done and allow him to continue to function as the chief priest.
“This government won’t allow any town to boil over chieftaincy crisis and the dimension your case is assuming could be worse than we expected, if the people can’t forgive each other.
“This action doesn’t mean that Owatapa is not in charge. He is firmly in charge of his town and he should be respected as the head It is our opinion that it is wrong for any chief to disrespect his monarch and this current government won’t tolerate such conduct”, she warned.
