A community leader in ancient town of Iwo in Iwo Local Government of Osun State, Otunba Bayo Aremu has cautioned the new Ataoja of Osogboland, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji Olanipekun, Larooye 11 to stop claiming that he is third most senior in the hierarchy of the state Council of Obas.

 Otunba Aremu who is also the Ekerin of Iwoland described Ataoja’s claim in  a recent interview with one national daily but as false, untrue and unfounded saying that available records show  that historically,Oluwo takes precedence over the Ataoja of Osogbo.

This was contained in a press statement issued and signed by his spokesperson, Prince Dauda Abimbola who said that the issue once came up in 1993 when the both Ataoja and Oluwo had to appear before the state Government where  they ironed out  the issue of seniority .

He however maintained that Osun state government communicated its decision to the two royal fathers stating that Oluwo takes precedence over Ataoja in a circular letter dated March 18th, 1993 and titled “order of Precedence among Obas in Osun State” which emanated from the then Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs office of the Deputy Governor and signed by one Chief Olapoju Taiwo who is Director General then and the circular is attached to the press statement.

The circular reads in part “the under-listed age-long order of precedence among the following Obas in Osun state” as follows, the Ooni of Ife, Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Orangun of Ila, Oluwo of Iwo, Ataoja of Osogbo and Timi of Ede.

He further said that the order of precedence of Oluwo over Ataoja has been established as far back as 1917 when various native Authorities in Nigeria were the  order of the day as conveyed by the Nigeria Gazette No 104 of September 13, 1917.

Aremu explained that the clarification became necessary in order to avoid distortion of historical facts  also submitted that the order of precedence was  given priority during the first republic in western region until 1990 in old Oyo state when the Traditional council was established and the order  was  changed when  both Ataoja and Timi were superseding the Oluwo due to the interregnum in Iwo.