The monarch Alaafin of Oyo threw
his weight behind President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption war, commending
efforts he had made since his assumption of office.
However, he warned that
caution should not be thrown to the winds in the course of fighting the
hydra-headed vice called corruption.
The Oyo State traditional
rulers have denied benefitting from the $2.1 billion arms fund, which the
Traditional Council of Nigeria was believed to have benefited from.
The monarchs spoke through
the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, in Oyo town, yesterday.
According to Oba Adeyemi,
he had never hidden his disapproval for the setting up of the council in the
first instance and that he never supported it.
The Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) had alleged that TCN was one of the beneficiaries of
the slush fund.
While exonerating himself
and other members of the council in the 33 local government councils in the
state, the Alaafin, who spoke with members of the Nigerian Union of
Journalists, NUJ, Oyo Council led by Mr. Gbenga Opadotun to commemorate his
45th coronation anniversary, said he stood firmly against the illegality of TCN
and possible crisis it could engender among the traditional rulers in the
country.
Alaafin said, “When you
talk of the arms deal fund, to the best of my knowledge, none of the
traditional rulers in all the 33 local government councils in the state
collected from such money. We are not part of it.”
The traditional ruler said,
“People in authority should know their limitations too and do everything in
accordance with the dictates of the constitution in order not to be seen as
vindictive.”
He noted that since his
ascension to the throne 45 years ago, he had initiated a number of
developmental projects in the Yoruba nation and the country at large both
nationally and internationally.
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