鈥emand Apology Within Seven Days
AKURE 鈥 As controversy continues over the demolition of the Memori-al Park constructed in honour of victims of Owo massacre, a group, Oduduwa Women Advo-cacy Initiative, has condemned the wife of the late Governor Olu-warotimi Akeredolu, Betty, for using derogatory words against the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye III, while reacting to the demolition.
The President of the group, Erelu Modupe Akindele-Martins, in strong terms, condemned Mrs. Betty Akeredolu for not respect-ing the traditional stool of Olowo of Owo.
Akindele-Martins, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, expressed her disgust for the stance of wife of the former governor of the state for publicly degrading the sanctity of Owo traditional insti-tution despite the fact that she鈥檚 married to an Owo man.
The APC chieftain on Friday said, 鈥淚n her outburst, Mrs. Ak-eredolu, who is the wife of for-mer Ondo State Governor, Ara-kunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, and a traditional chief in her own right, failed to recognise the sanc-tity of the traditional institution and the respect due to our kings 鈥 who are the custodians of our culture and heritage.鈥
Erelu Modupe Akindele-Mar-tins, in a statement made avail-able to newsmen in Akure, said, 鈥淚t is particularly disheartening that Mrs. Akeredolu, a woman of stature who was married to a respected son of the Owo king-dom, would choose to publicly denigrate the throne of our an-cestors.
鈥淗er comments regarding the decision of the Olowo-in-Council to relocate the cenotaph in front of the Olowo鈥檚 palace are not only disrespectful but also un-dermined the authority of our traditional institutions.
鈥淢rs. Akeredolu鈥檚 actions appear to stem from a desire for attention rather than genuine concern for the deceased. Her ongoing public disputes since the passing of her husband have raised questions about her commitment to the progress and peace of Ondo State.
鈥淲e hereby demand a formal apology from Mrs. Betty Ak-eredolu, as a wife and member of the Owo kingdom, for her disrespectful remarks towards the Olowo and the traditional institution.
鈥淲e expect this apology to be tendered within the next seven days. Failure to comply will re-sult in serious repercussions from the women of Yoruba land, who will not tolerate such af-fronts to our traditions.鈥