I Never Begged Governor Oyetola for N20m Wedding Expenses – Oluwo Denies Viral Letter
By Kabir Akintayo
The Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi, has denied the allegation that he solicited 20 Million Naira from Osun state Governor, Gboyega Oyetola, to fund his royal wedding to a Kano princess.
The spokesperson to the Monarch, Alli Ibrahim, in a press statement issued on Friday, said:
“We read with total dismay a letter said to have emanated from the palace of Oluwo of Iwoland, seeking financial assistance on his personal affairs, wedding.
“While we commend the enlightened public for their sense of fair judgement, we want to categorically state that the letter is fake and did not emanate from the palace of Oluwo.
“The said letter lacks basic in-house styles of Oluwo’s palace correspondence. Oluwo always append his personal signature while writing the government.
“Equally, the font in the letter is not our official style. At the said date on the letter, Oluwo was not in the state … And his secretary has no audacity, whatsoever, to sign on behalf of His Majesty while communicating with the government.
“The letter was orchestrated by
mischievous people whose mission is to discredit the palace. Marriage is a personal affair.
“There is no marriage venture too big for Oluwo to finance on his own. Those circulating such should exercise caution. Queen is coming but not in the haste of the public demand.
“We enjoin reasonable individuals to get their facts before jumping on the bandwagon.”
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Corroborating the content of the press release, a top government official in the state who preferred anonymity, revealed to Politics Digest that the Oluwo of Iwo normally signs all his letters himself and delivers them himself.
He expressed doubt over the authenticity of the letter, adding that since the Oluwo recently declared support for the continuity of Governor Oyetola, opposition forces had already started propaganda warfare against him in order to discredit the Oba and cause confusion in the state.
He added that the state government was still basking in the euphoria of the open endorsement they got from the Oluwo few days ago and if the letter was genuine, they would not leak such a letter to embarrass him.
The viral letter on social media had indicated that the Iwo monarch requested 20million Naira financial assistance to consummate his proposed union with the Kano Princess.
The letter, dated February 8, 2022 and addressed to the Osun state Governor, was reportedly received on his behalf by the office of the Special Adviser on Chieftaincy Affairs.
The letter read: “I have the instruction of His Imperial Majesty, Oba (Dr) Abdul-Rasheed Adewale Akanbi, the Oluwo of Iwo, to notify you of the Oluwo’s decision to marry a Princess from Kano Emirate, to be precise Ado Bayero dynasty.
“I wish to remind your Excellency that the kind of royal wedding within two notable traditional institutions in Nigeria will require huge expenses, which necessitate the support of state government financially, even logistically.
“Moreover, the estimated amount for the event is above N20,000,000. His Excellency, Oba Akanbi relies on you for necessary consideration and approval on this request.”
The letter had generated a lot of criticisms from Nigerians before the Palace issued the rebuttal.
