Olubadan-Designate Ladoja Backs Governorship for Non-Indigenes

The Olubadan-designate, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, has declared that he holds no objection to a non-indigene of Ibadan emerging as governor of Oyo State, provided the candidate possesses the qualities required for good governance.

Oba Ladoja made this known on Friday while receiving a delegation of politicians and eminent personalities from Oke-Ogun, in the Oyo North Senatorial District, who paid him a courtesy visit at his Bodija residence in Ibadan.

The delegation included notable figures such as Dr. Ismail Adewusi, former Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Planning; Mr. Adebayo Olagbenro, former Oyo State Commissioner for Trade, Commerce and Investment; a former deputy governor of Oyo State, Chief Iyiola Oladokun; and Chief Isaac Koleoso, among others.

In his remarks, the Olubadan-designate recalled that the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Bola Ige, though not Ibadan indigenes, governed as Premier and Governor respectively, and yet left lasting developmental footprints in Ibadan.

He urged other zones with governorship aspirations to engage in proper dialogue and negotiation with Ibadan, noting that the city’s large population is a political force that cannot be ignored.

Ladoja further revealed that, during his time as governor, his plan was to support his then deputy, Dr. Adebayo Alao-Akala from Ogbomoso, to succeed him. His intention, he said, was to establish a rotation in which Ibadan and other zones would each, in turn, have a fair share of the governorship seat.

“It is the quality of the person who occupies that position that should matter to us all,” he emphasized. “Other zones must present candidates we can support—individuals who are trustworthy, gentle, and diligent in service.”

Responding on behalf of the delegation, Dr. Adewusi commended Oba Ladoja’s leadership qualities, describing him as a statesman with vast social, economic, and political networks that would be instrumental in advancing the progress of Ibadanland.