PDP Demands Apology From Okpebholo To Oba of Benin Over Imposition of ‘Iyaloja-General’ On Edo Markets By Tinubu’s Daughter

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The imposition of Iyaloja-General on Edo market women in the person of President Bola Tinubu’s first daughter, Folashade Tinubu-Ojo despite earlier warning against it by the palace of the Oba of Benin, Ewuare 11 has continued to elicit reactions and controversy with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) warning that any attempt to create parallel or “general” market leadership structures that undermine the Palace-confirmed order would be resisted by Edo people at home and in the Diaspora.

The party vowed to use every lawful political and civic means to resist the erosion of the Benin traditional institutions.

In a statement Thursday night, the PDP expressed “its profound disquiet and condemnation” at the recent public spectacle “in which a non-Benin woman purported to inaugurate market leadership positions in Benin Kingdom”, an act the Oba of Benin has himself described as alien to our culture.

Tinubu-Ojo, self-appointed Iyaloja-General of Nigeria, had visited Edo State on Thursday to crown Mrs. Josephine Isi Ibhaguezejele, a pastor, as the Iyaloja-General of Edo markets, at a ceremony held at the Government House where the Director, office of the First Lady, Edo State, Mrs. Edesili Anani and some market women were present.

When Ibhaguezejele was presented to the Oba by the president’s daughter, she was unequivocally told that the position is alien to the Benin custom and tradition as no one leader has authority over traders in another market.

Oba Ewuare reminded her that she was in the home of culture where every Iyeki (market leader) has a special relationship with the Palace and so must be confirmed before inauguration.

In its statement Thursday signed by the state publicity secretary of the PDP, Dan Osa-Ogbegie, a lawyer, the party demanded an “unambiguous apology to the Oba of Benin and to the Edo people from the office of the Governor and from any official involved in organising the event”, as well as an independent review of the role of the First Lady’s office and Government House protocol “in staging events affecting Benin cultural institutions”, with findings to be made public.

It also called for a meeting between the Palace and the state government to reaffirm the Palace’s custodial role over native customs and market institutions and a formal undertaking that no future inauguration, appointment, or public recognition of market leaders would take place without prior consultation and confirmation by the Palace, as required by custom.

According to Ogbegie, “No one, individual or government, has the right to usurp the custodial functions of the Oba. Any attempt to create parallel or “general” market leadership structures that undermine the Palace-confirmed order will be resisted by Edo people at home and in the Diaspora.

“Governor Okpebholo and his appointees must explain themselves. The people of Edo deserve to know who authorised or facilitated the event in Government House, and under whose instruction the Palace was disrespected”.

Insisting that this is not merely a cultural matter, “it is a political test”, the PDP’s publicity scribe stated unequivocally that “Edo is not for sale. Our traditions are not bargaining chips for political expediency or a stage for partisan showmanship”.

Describing the public chanting of “non-Edo songs and incantations, and the theatrical elements staged during the alleged “inauguration” as “acts of cultural insensitivity and, to many, sacrilegious”, Ogbegie said “They violated the dignity of the Palace and the people it represents”.

The PDP said it would also raise the matter in the appropriate fora, support legal remedies where necessary, “and ensure that those who treat Edo tradition as a footnote to political theatre are held to account”.