Residents of Ipesi Akoko in Akoko East Local Government Area of Ondo State, on Sunday, protested against the inability of the state government to appoint a monarch for the community.
It was gathered that the community had being without a king for the past 16 years after the demise of their monarch.
The protesters, comprising youths and women, who were chanting various solidarity songs, said the community had not been witnessing development as a results of the absence of a monarch.
Some of the placards of the protesters carried inscriptions such as; ‘We don’t need Lagos Regent,’ ‘We need an oba’, ‘Ipesi has suffered enough give us an Oba,’ ’16 years without an oba, no more Lagos regent.’
Speaking, one of the protesters and youth leader in the community, Mr. Katola Kayode, said Ebomi Lake, one of the flourishing tourist centres in the state was now abandoned and neglected due to lack of a monarch.
He said, “Appointment of a regent is very alien to Ipesi tradition, we don’t want regent again, we want an Oba.”
A former supervising councillor in Akoko South-East Local Government and indigene of the community, Mr. Awolumate Akinwale, said the community might not witness development until an oba is installed.
“We are appealing to the state government to wade into this matter, we need an Oba,” he urged .
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