ONISHERI WELCOMES EGBE-IDIMU COUNCIL CHAIRMAN'S PEACE OFFER, ADVISES HIM TO BE MORE " CAUTIONARY" IN THROWING STONES FROM HIS GLASSHOUSE

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The Onisheri of Isheri Olofin Kingdom has said that he was delighted with the claims credited to the Executive Chairman of Egbe-Idimu LCDA, Hon (Prince) Idris Balogun, that he was ready to "dialogue" with the Palace over the disturbing issues of the Powerline land, which has been putting the innocent artisans plying their trades there in needless apprehensions. The monarch said this as his repartee to a recent release from the Council Chairman's Office with a wave of an olive branch.

In the same breadth, the official release from the Palace, a copy of which was exclusively received by this magazine, also said Oba Ibrahim Olasunkanmi Lawal-Bello (COP) however took exceptions to the offer of dialogue amidst Chairman's premises of unfounded claims with statements of falsehoods that could at best be seen as unbecoming of the exalted office of Executive Chairman of a local council. Accordingly, the monarch advised the Council Chairman to be more "cautionary" in throwing stones from his glasshouse.

In an originating publication by an online news medium, (Civics Weekly), the Onisheri of Isheri was published to have formally reacted to a supposed query given to him by the Council Chairman for the first time. Therein with published video content, the monarch described the query as "baseless and act of intimidation". He added that the issues informing the query was a direct case of the Council Chairman in tango with artisans plying their trade under the Powerline corridor of Isheri Olofin territory, adding that he would only be surprised that his intervention to maintain peace would resort to the arbitrary wielding of power by the Council Chairman to warrant the 'baseless query'.

Reacting to this publication through an "Official Statement" released from the Office of Executive Chairman of the Council, the bases of the query were thus outlined for its justification. Concluding on that, however, the statement went further to release the doves from the Council's part, saying: "The Council remains open to engage directly with HRM Oba Dr. Ibrahim Olasunkanmi Lawal-Bello (COP), the Onisheri of Isheri Olofin, and other respected leaders to resolve any misunderstandings through dialogue, cooperation, and mutual respect".

A new 'Press Release' from the Palace on Tuesday (yesterday), however said while the monarch was waiting for the Chairman to walk his talk of dialogue, it had become "necessary" to set the record straight on the sundry "fallacies and false claims" the Council Chairman adduced to justify his query, more especially his basis for the recall of official car given to the monarch, which were rather at "gross variance" to those given in the correspondence for the recall.

The Release said: "The revered Onisheri of Isheri Olofin, Oba Ibrahim Olasunkanmi Lawal-Bello, has taken cognizance of the interest of the Executive Chairman, Hon Prince Idris Balogun's offer to dialogue with the Palace for the resolution of 'any misunderstandings'. His Royal Majesty, an internationally honoured Ambassador of Peace, is highly delighted to receive this news.

"However, it is to be noted that the Palace takes serious exceptions to the Council's highlight of his bases for the given query which were rather unfounded claims bordering on fallacies and falsehoods, the bulk of which did not make the contents of the query. This especially takes note of the given basis for the recall of Kabiyesi's official car, which was at gross variance to the content of the letter of the recall.

"On the Crests of this, the Palace would have wished that the peace initiatives being prospected by the Council Chairman would have better begun with a silence to the 'Official Statement' from his Office. It is only unfortunate that the statement had rather raised a cause for concerns on the part of Palace. Part of the concerns could rather be seen in the Council Chairman's uncautionary throwing of stones to the Palace from his glasshouse. It has therefore becomes necessary for the Palace to clarify the facts surrounding each of the items as now placed before the public by the Council".

The Release faulted the Council Chairman's claim to making recall of the official car assertively because the monarch had "transferred" it to a third party. While describing the claims as unfounded and lacked in due process required in verification of facts, it said it was even a high "disrespect" to the Throne from someone that should know better.

It said: "For the start, the Council's claim that His Royal Majesty had 'transferred the car to a third party" was not only unfounded, it was a great disappointment and a high disrespect to the Throne, especially given that it would come from a Crown Prince of the Land -- the one of immediate predecessor of the Kabiyesi at that.

"It is to be said that the Council Chairman coming to this conclusion was even procedeurally faulty for neglecting the due process that ought to have preceded the recall as a consequential sanction to an established fact finding. In a clime where transparency prevails in act of administrative orderliness and procedure devoid of any act of intent for blackmail, it would be expectected that even if a discreet investigations were to have been conducted with respect to this claim and the outcome found to be indicting, it is still yet the only procedure known to the rule of law for the Council to demand explanation from His Royal Majesty even if it would be by way of valid quary. But this was not to be.

"Rather the notice of recall rather came as a twin letter to the query. No discernible mind would therefore ever be comfortable to detatche the two memo from each other. It is so easy to see the recall of the car as a consequential sanction to the given query in manner of a tyranny of blackmail by their combined delivery to the Palace".

The Release also said the Council Chairman might be shooting himself in the foot with allegations accusing His Royal Majesty of "Trading (Commercialization) of the Powerline land. It added that Prince Balogun was only throwing stones from his glasshouse.

It went further:"Next on the allegation of "Trading of the land (Commercialization)", the Palace is of the conclusion that this is supposedly referring to the Powerline arena in question. It is heartwarming that the Council Chairman claims to be in possession of evidence of "valid documents" that certain portions of the land have been traded by His Royal Majesty.

"The position of the Palace is that whatever any documents that the Council Chairman may be holding for this, it is equally evidential that he is a direct beneficiary of the "trading" in so far it is about the stretch of the Powerline from the Council area to Oladun. It could not have mattered whether he got his shares in proxy of a third party when chips are down for determination of fact.

"That is why the Palace is being so generous to advise the Council Chairman to be so cautionary in throwing stones from his glasshouse.

"Interestingly, it is verifiable that the Palace came into the picture of the "trading (Commercialization)" as a latter arbiter when the Council Chaitman's dispute with the artisans over his demand of the artisans for payment of "Royalties". If the Palace intervention yielded a result of partial compliance from the artisans and the due amount to the Council Chairman remitted accordingly to the account provided, it remains to be seen what offence His Royal Majesty has committed".

On the implicit claim of an existing "company managing" the Powerline area, the release from the Palace said the issue has remained the fundamental question the Council is yet to answer. According to the Palace, the company cannot be a "ghost" to the Palace and continue to torment the innocent traders.

It read: "The statement credited to the Council Chairman also made mention of an existing 'company managing the area", the under Powerline space we supposed. It is to be made known here that the issue came out at the time of His Royal Majesty's arbitration between the artisans and the Council Chairman. The mention of that by the latter had caused Kabiyesi to demand from the Council Chairman the letter of authorisation possessed by the so called company to manage the place from the Federal Government as claimed by the Council Chairman. If he would present that to Kabiyesi, that would be tomorrow.

"It was so unfortunate that rather than towing this path to peace with presentation of the acclaimed company and the certification attorney, the next information to reach the Palace was escalation of hostility in the area between the Council and the artisans, which to the knowledge of the public now resorted to the intervention of the State Taskforce.

"It is therefore to be reiterated here that the ghost company known only to the Council Chairman cannot continue to forment trouble and put the peace of the Isheri Olofin residents and innocent artisans plying their trades in the area at risks. Thus, the question the Palace has been asking the Council are: 1. What is identity of the company purportedly holding the certificate to manage the area? 2. If the company is truly in possession of the attorney from the Federal Government, why not bring it out so that it could be helpful in guiding the Palace appropriately?"

In its concluding statement, the release said: "All this being the account of the Palace side to the shindig as needful to balance the story before the public, it is here being concluded that the Palace is ready to receive the Council Chairman in furtherance to his waved olive branch. His Royal.

OBA LAWAL-BELLO SAYS THE COUNCIL CHAIRMAN'S RECALL OF HIS OFFICIAL CAR IS HIGHLY DISAPPOINTING IN THIS VIDEO BELOW. IT ALSO REVEALS WHAT WAS GIVEN AS THE BASIS FOR THE RECALL BEING AT VARIANCE WITH WHAT WAS GIVEN IN THE OFFICIAL STATEMENT "But to wave the olive branch and release the doves under false narrations to compel his last say in the matter is what the Palace takes a serious exception to and that is what our story here has addressed".