Oyo State All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, has congratulated the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, on his 82nd birthday, describing the former governor as a statesman whose public and traditional leadership has spanned decades.
The celebration carries additional significance because the monarch’s 82nd birthday comes just a day before the first anniversary of his coronation as the 44th Olubadan of Ibadanland.
Alli, who represents Oyo South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, said the twin milestones represented an opportunity to reflect on Ladoja’s journey through business, politics, public service and the Ibadan traditional institution.
In a congratulatory message issued by his campaign organisation’s Director of Media and Publicity, Bisi Oladele, Alli described the monarch as a statesman, administrator, political strategist and traditional ruler whose life had been devoted to service.
But the significance of the Ladoja 82nd birthday extends beyond the congratulatory message.
It brings together two prominent figures whose relationship crosses politics and Ibadan’s traditional leadership structure at a time when Alli is preparing to contest the 2027 Oyo governorship election.
Ladoja marks 82nd birthday, first year as Olubadan
Oba Ladoja was born on September 25, 1944.
He ascended the throne as the 44th Olubadan of Ibadanland on September 26, 2025, succeeding Oba Owolabi Olakulehin.
That means the Ladoja 82nd birthday falls immediately before the monarch’s first coronation anniversary.
Ladoja has requested that the two occasions be marked without elaborate celebrations.
Instead, the Olubadan asked friends and residents of Ibadan to give thanks to God, pray for the years ahead and extend assistance to people facing difficult circumstances.
The monarch particularly encouraged well-wishers to support motherless babies’ homes and vulnerable people.
That low-key approach gives the anniversary a different character from a conventional royal celebration.
For Ladoja, the occasion is being presented primarily as one of thanksgiving and service.
Alli describes Ladoja’s journey as decades of service
Alli said Ladoja’s progression from public and political leadership to the highest traditional office in Ibadan reflected experience, resilience and commitment to the city.
The APC governorship candidate said the monarch’s decades-long progression through the Ibadan traditional hierarchy had given him deep institutional knowledge.
He also praised what he described as Ladoja’s dignity and sense of responsibility since ascending the throne.
The comments surrounding the Ladoja 82nd birthday reflect the unusual breadth of the monarch’s public career.
Before becoming Olubadan, Ladoja had already spent decades in business and politics.
He served in the Senate during the Third Republic and later became governor of Oyo State.
His eventual transition from partisan politics to the traditional institution created a rare combination of political and royal experience.
From chemical engineer to businessman and politician
Ladoja’s career did not begin in politics.
Born in 1944, he studied chemical engineering at the University of Liège in Belgium before building a career in business.
He later entered politics and was elected to the Senate in the early 1990s.
His most prominent political office came in 2003 when he was elected governor of Oyo State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.
His governorship would become one of the most consequential chapters of his political career.
Ladoja was impeached in January 2006 following an intense political crisis in Oyo State.
He challenged his removal through the courts and was eventually restored to office after the impeachment was nullified.
That episode remains a major part of his political history.
The Ladoja 82nd birthday therefore celebrates a man whose career has passed through business, legislative politics, executive government and traditional leadership.
Alli’s relationship with Ladoja predates 2027 contest
The congratulatory message also carries personal and political history.
Alli previously served as Secretary to the Oyo State Government and Chief of Staff during Ladoja’s administration.
Their association therefore predates Alli’s emergence as the APC governorship candidate for the 2027 election.
Alli currently represents Oyo South in the Senate.
The APC formally unveiled him as its 2027 Oyo governorship candidate in July, alongside his running mate, Adesoji Adedeji.
His campaign has identified agriculture, education, healthcare, infrastructure, youth empowerment, economic development, accountability and welfare among its stated priorities.
Those remain campaign commitments rather than accomplished policies.
The relationship between Alli and Ladoja should similarly not automatically be interpreted as an electoral endorsement.
The Olubadan is now the paramount traditional ruler of Ibadanland, while Alli is contesting an explicitly partisan election.
Traditional connection also deepens
There is another important dimension to their relationship.
Only days before the Ladoja 82nd birthday, the Olubadan elevated Alli within Ibadan’s traditional chieftaincy hierarchy.
Alli was promoted from Ekarun Balogun to Ekerin Balogun of Ibadanland.
The elevation forms part of Ibadan’s established succession structure.
Alli described the new rank as a greater responsibility to serve the people rather than simply an additional title.
His advancement means the APC candidate simultaneously occupies positions within Nigeria’s elected political system and Ibadan’s traditional structure.
That makes his tribute to Ladoja more than a routine message from a candidate to a traditional ruler.
It is also a tribute from a high chief within the Olubadan system to the monarch at its head.
Ibadan’s traditional succession system
The Olubadan institution is notable for its structured succession arrangement.
High chiefs progress through established ranks over time, creating a system in which prospective occupants of the throne can spend years acquiring experience within Ibadan’s traditional hierarchy.
Ladoja himself passed through that system before becoming Olubadan.
His accession followed the death of Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, the 43rd Olubadan.
Alli said this long progression had contributed to Ladoja’s understanding of Ibadan’s culture, traditions and institutions.
His own recent elevation means he is progressing through one of those same traditional lines.
The relationship between the two men therefore now operates across both political history and traditional hierarchy.
Ladoja’s political influence shaped modern Oyo politics
Although Ladoja now occupies a traditional throne, his political history remains significant to understanding contemporary Oyo politics.
He has been associated with different political alignments over the years and has maintained relationships with many prominent politicians in the state.
Governor Seyi Makinde has previously acknowledged Ladoja’s place in his own political history.
Their relationship has experienced periods of disagreement as well as reconciliation.
Alli’s political development is similarly connected to the former governor.
This makes the Ladoja 82nd birthday a moment that inevitably attracts messages from across Oyo’s political establishment.
However, congratulatory statements should not automatically be treated as declarations of political alliance.
Traditional rulers routinely receive goodwill messages from politicians belonging to competing parties.
Ladoja seeks prayers instead of elaborate celebration
The monarch himself has attempted to keep attention away from elaborate festivities.
Ahead of his birthday and coronation anniversary, Ladoja asked supporters and friends to concentrate on thanksgiving and prayer.
He also encouraged charitable giving.
That message is consistent with the broader emphasis on service surrounding the anniversary.
At 82, Ladoja is marking a personal milestone.
But his first year as Olubadan is also an institutional milestone.
The throne requires him to represent interests extending beyond the political networks with which he was associated before his coronation.
That transition from active politician to traditional ruler remains one of the most significant aspects of his current public role.
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Oyo politics enters another election cycle
Alli’s message also comes as Oyo State moves towards the 2027 governorship election.
The APC has selected Alli as its candidate.
The senator emerged following the party’s internal process and has since been involved in efforts to consolidate support within the opposition party.
The political environment will inevitably increase scrutiny of Alli’s interactions with influential traditional and political figures.
Ibadan occupies a particularly important place in Oyo politics because of its population and political weight.
But traditional institutions are distinct from political parties.
Ogele News therefore does not interpret Alli’s relationship with Ladoja, or his position in the Olubadan chieftaincy structure, as evidence that the monarch has endorsed his governorship ambition.
No such conclusion follows from the birthday message.
Alli praises leadership beyond political affiliation
Alli’s statement emphasised Ladoja’s contribution beyond party politics.
He said the monarch’s experience and understanding of Oyo State remained valuable and described his contributions as extending across political affiliations and generations.
The language is significant because Ladoja’s career has involved multiple political phases.
His supporters have long viewed him as an important political figure in Ibadan and Oyo State.
But becoming Olubadan has changed the institutional character of his role.
The throne represents Ibadanland rather than a political party.
That distinction becomes particularly important as Oyo enters another election cycle.
First year on throne adds significance to celebration
The Ladoja 82nd birthday is inseparable from his first coronation anniversary.
A year ago, his emergence completed a lengthy journey through Ibadan’s traditional succession structure.
His coronation at Mapo Hall formally moved him from a former governor and political elder to the city’s paramount traditional ruler.
One year later, the attention shifts from his accession to how he is defining the office.
Ladoja has emphasised peace, unity, tradition and service during the anniversary period.
His call for charitable support rather than elaborate festivities also offers an indication of how he wants the twin celebrations presented publicly.
A birthday carrying political and traditional history
Birthday messages from politicians are routine in Nigerian public life.
This one carries more history than most.
The man sending the message once served in the administration of the man receiving it.
Both later travelled different political paths.
Alli is now the APC candidate seeking to become Oyo State governor in 2027.
Ladoja, a former governor himself, now occupies the Olubadan throne.
Only days before the birthday, Ladoja elevated Alli further within Ibadan’s traditional hierarchy.
That combination gives the Ladoja 82nd birthday additional context.
It is a celebration of longevity and public service, but it also illustrates how deeply political history and traditional institutions intersect in Ibadan.
For Alli, the message is one of respect for a former political principal and current traditional ruler.
For Ladoja, the occasion marks 82 years of life and almost exactly one year since assuming the highest traditional office in Ibadanland.
And for Ibadan, the twin anniversary provides another moment to reflect on a public figure whose journey has moved from engineering and business to the Senate, the Oyo Government House and, ultimately, the Olubadan Palace.
