APC visit would have received royal curse — Timi of Ede, Oba Lawal

The Timi of Ede, Oba Munirudeen Adesola Lawal, has explained his absence during a recent visit to his palace by the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, saying he had no blessings to offer the party but would instead have pronounced a curse over its members.

The monarch’s absence during the APC campaign visit last Tuesday generated reactions on social media, with some party supporters alleging that he deliberately avoided receiving the delegation because Governor Ademola Adeleke, the Accord candidate seeking re-election, is an indigene of Ede.

Several APC supporters argued that the traditional ruler should have received all governorship candidates in a fatherly manner, irrespective of political affiliation, and criticised what they described as unequal treatment of opposition candidates.

A Facebook user, Awwal Tunde Alawo, had criticised the monarch’s absence, writing, “I think Baba Kabiyesi Timi of Ede should display a more fatherly role to all. The first one was his closure of his gate against the ADC governorship candidate, Rt. Hon. Najeem Salaam, two weeks ago. Now, against the APC governorship candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Oyebamiji, too, today.”

The social media user added that while Governor Adeleke had been warmly received by other traditional rulers in the state, Oba Lawal had not extended a similar reception to his political opponents.

“This isn’t a good gesture from the Timi. Baba should behave more maturely and be a father to all,” he wrote.

Responding to the criticism, a member of the Osun State APC Elders Caucus, Alhaji Gbedebo Ajao, said the monarch’s absence was unrelated to politics.

He explained that the Timi had travelled to Ile-Ife for an official engagement with the Ooni of Ife.

According to Ajao, “The monarch and other traditional rulers from the Ede/Egbedore Traditional Council attended a scheduled meeting with the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, to commiserate with him over the death of his elder brother.

“We were duly informed, and we fact-checked this information to be true. They even requested a new date.”

However, speaking during an Accord campaign rally in Ede on Tuesday, Oba Lawal dismissed suggestions that he intentionally left the palace to avoid the APC delegation, saying he had actually anticipated their visit.

The monarch, speaking in Yoruba in a video circulated by Arise TV, linked his position to the slogan “E Pana Ede”, allegedly used by APC supporters during the ongoing governorship campaign. The expression translates as “Off Ede Light.”

“There is a rumour that I left the palace on the day the APC people came to visit me. I was actually waiting for the day they would come to the palace so I could ask them why they said ‘E Pana Ede’,  ‘Off Ede Light.’ What do they expect from me? It would have been a curse,” the monarch said.

The slogan, “E Pana Ede, E Tan Ti Ikire,” meaning “Off Ede Light, On that of Ikire,” has circulated widely on social media ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

Governor Ademola Adeleke is from Ede, while the APC governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, is an indigene of Ikire.