Aregbesola Speaks About Ooni Of Ife’s Death

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun state over the weekend broke the silence on the reported death of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade. The governor spoke in public at a special sitting at the state’s House of Assembly.
The governor said that the last text message he received from the monarch was really touching. He promised to reveal its content ‘at the right time’.Aregbesola also explained that he discussed the message with the Ife Royal Traditional Council during at a meeting in Osogbo, the capital of Osun state.

He maintained that a traditional ruler never dies in Yorubaland. The governor offered prayers for long life for all the traditional rulers present at the meeting.

The news on Ooni’s death broke on July 28. Nigerians reacted to the development with both grief and disbelief. The palace sources debunked the death rumours on July 29.

However, a source at the Nigerian High Commission in the UK told newsmen three days ago that the Ife monarch’s remains is still in London, and details on relocating the body to Nigeria for burial rites are confidential.