The recent political declaration by the Igbomina Traditional Rulers Forum has drawn fierce criticism from a prominent regional socio-political group, the Kwara South People’s Frontier, which described the monarchs’ open partisan stance as “highly embarrassing and deplorable.”
In a joint statement signed by the Coordinator, Akintola Babalola Williams and Secretary, Hakeem Adebisi Adeyinka on Wednesday and made available to 9japarrot media, the frontier accused the traditional rulers of reducing their sacred royal stools to political tools and ignoring pressing regional crises like insecurity to chase singular legislative seats.
The group’s anger stems from a press briefing led by the Olupo of Ajase-Ipo, Oba Ismail Yahaya Alebiosu where the Igbomina monarchs explicitly demanded that the All Progressives Congress (APC) zone its 2027 Kwara South senatorial ticket to the Igbomina bloc based on a historical rotational arrangement.
The Kwara South People’s Frontier expressed deep disappointment that the monarchs chose to identify so closely with just one political party, essentially alienating non-APC indigenes who are also sons and daughters of the soil.
“The activities and the pronouncements of our Kings are unprecedentedly very disturbing, particularly now that the entire Kwara South Senatorial district is being marginalized by the major political parties, where none has agreed for now to pick their Governorship Candidate from Kwara South,” the statement read.
“Our Igbomina Kings do not see anything wrong in Kwara South becoming a shopping center for votes.” they added.
The frontier argued that the traditional rulers are displaying skewed political priorities. According to the group, the economic and structural benefits of angling for a Kwara South Governor are infinitely more impactful for the grassroots than retaining a singular seat in the Red Chamber.
They further pointed out a perceived double standard in the monarchs’ recent interventions, noting that when an Igbomina son was recently rumored as a preferred gubernatorial candidate, no traditional ruler called a press conference to support him.
Conversely, the group alleged that the same set of kings went on air last year and even attended political rallies to canvas for a governorship ambition stemming from an entirely different senatorial district.
“What Igbomina stands to gain as a people if an Igbomina man becomes the next Governor of Kwara State is far more enormous than Igbomina having three Senators at the Red Chamber at a time,” the group emphasized, urging the monarchs to channel their energy toward more productive, collective ventures.
The most damning indictment leveled against the traditional rulers was their alleged silence regarding the deep security challenges, kidnappings, and insurgent incursions threatening agrarian communities across the Igbomina axis.
The frontier berated the royal fathers for failing to show the same level of media urgency when it came to defending the lives and livelihoods of their subjects.
“Meanwhile, this is the ethnic bloc (Igbomina) that is worse hit by the ravaging insurgency in Kwara State. No traditional ruler ever addressed the press, none called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu or Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to assist our people in finding lasting solutions to the insecurity but they are always eager to address the press and pay visits on the political ambitions of their sponsors.” they added.
Concluding its intervention, the Kwara South People’s Frontier called on all well-meaning elders, professionals, and intellectual leaders within the Igbomina land to urgently prevail upon the traditional rulers to stay clear of partisan politics.
Reminding the monarchs that all inhabitants of Kwara South share a common Oduduwa lineage, the group stated that kings are meant to be agents of unity and custodians of heritage, not factors of political fragmentation. They demanded an immediate end to discriminatory, party-specific endorsements to save the prestige of the traditional institution from public ridicule.
