A fresh dispute has emerged over the leadership of market women in Osun State, with Governor Ademola Adeleke and the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji, taking opposing positions on who should occupy the office of Iyaloja General.
The disagreement followed the reported reinstatement of Chief Awawu Asindemade, the Iyalode of Osogbo, by the Ataoja, several years after she was replaced by the Adeleke administration.
Asindemade previously served as Iyaloja General during the administrations of former governors Rauf Aregbesola and Adegboyega Oyetola. In May 2023,
Adeleke appointed Mrs Mary Oyebode as her replacement, describing Oyebode at the time as a strong leader among business women in the state.
The change, however, did not end Asindemade’s claim to the position.
Shortly after the 2023 appointment, she rejected the decision and argued that the organisation of market leaders was a non-governmental body which she founded, insisting that the government had no authority to remove her.
The issue has now resurfaced following a video in which the Ataoja announced that Asindemade had returned to the position of Iyaloja General.
Speaking in Yoruba at an event where Asindemade was presented with the royal beads associated with the office, the monarch said he had directed her to support Adeleke’s re-election during the August 15 governorship election.
According to the Ataoja, Asindemade complied with the directive, prompting him to restore her to the position.
“I am the only person who can appoint the Iyaloja General,” the monarch said, adding that he wanted the governor to “be at peace with her.”
The development, however, drew an immediate response from the state government, which rejected the purported reinstatement.
In a statement issued by the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, Adeleke maintained that Oyebode remained the legally recognised Iyaloja General of Osun State.
The governor argued that the authority to appoint the state’s Iyaloja General rests with the state government, describing any contrary announcement, including one from the Osogbo palace, as “null and void.”
“Mrs Oyebode remains the legally appointed Iyaloja General under the authority of the state government,” the statement said.
Adeleke consequently urged market associations and women across the state to disregard any announcement concerning a new occupant of the position, stressing that Oyebode continued to enjoy the government’s recognition and support.
The governor also appealed to traditional institutions, organisations and individuals to operate within the limits of their respective legal mandates and avoid actions capable of disturbing the peace of the state.
The latest disagreement revives a long-running question over the relationship between the state government and the traditional and market leadership structures surrounding the Iyaloja-General position.
For now, the two sides maintain different positions: the Ataoja has presented Asindemade as the holder of the position, while the Adeleke administration continues to recognise Oyebode as the state’s Iyaloja General.