Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja Next Olubadan-in-Waiting

Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, is on the verge of becoming the next Olubadan of Ibadanland (44th Olubadan of Ibadanland), following the passing of Oba Owolabi Olakulehin (the 43rd Olubadan of Ibadanland) on 7th July, 2025.

As the Otun Olubadan, the highest-ranking chief in the civil line, Ladoja is positioned first in line for the throne under the unique rotational system that governs the Ibadan traditional leadership.

Ladoja was born on 25th September, 1944 in Gambari village near Ibadan. He attended Ibadan Boys High School (1958–1963) and Olivet Baptist High School (1964–1965). He studied at the University of Liège, Belgium (1966–1972) where he earned a degree in chemical engineering. Upon returning to Nigeria, he obtained a job with Total Nigeria, an oil company, where he worked for 13 years in various positions before entering private business in 1985. His business interests include shipping, manufacturing, banking, agriculture and transportation. He was elected to the Senate of Nigeria in 1993 during the short-lived Nigerian Third Republic, he was a member of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) during the Abacha Political Transition. By 2000, Ladoja had become a director of Standard Trust Bank Limited.

Ladoja was elected governor of Oyo State in April 2003 on the PDP platform, and took office on 29th May, 2003. He was supported by Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu, a PDP power broker in the state. By August 2004, Ladoja and Adedibu were locked in a fierce struggle over allocation of government appointees.  Ladoja was not supported by the party in this dispute. In an interview in late 2005, the PDP national chairman, Ahmadu Ali, said that Ladoja should take instructions from Lamidi Adedibu. 

On 12th January, 2006, Ladoja was impeached by Oyo State legislators and forced out of office. His deputy, Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala, was sworn in as the new governor.  On 1st November, 2006, the Appeal Court in the state capital, Ibadan, declared the impeachment null and void but advised waiting for confirmation of this decision by the Supreme Court.  The Supreme Court upheld the decision on 11th November, 2006, and Ladoja officially resumed office on 12th December, 2006. Anti-riot police were deployed along the main roads leading to the main government offices to prevent violence from supporters of Adebayo Alao-Akala and Lamidi Adedibu during his reinstatement.

Ladoja failed to win the PDP nomination as candidate for a second term. He chose to back the Action Congress candidates for 33 local council chairmanship elections. The PDP refused to participate in the elections. As a result, the Action Congress (AC) won 26 seats and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) won seven.  However, his successor as governor, his former deputy and former acting governor Christopher Adebayo Akala, sacked the council chairmen shortly after taking office and replaced them with PDP supporters.

Ladoja was the governorship candidate for Accord party in Oyo State during the April 2011 and 2015 elections, he lost to Senator Abiola Ajimobi. He later merged his Accord Party into PDP in 2017. Dispute in PDP made him and other allies (from Labour Party, All Progressives Congress APC etc.) to move over African Democratic Congress (ADC) in 2018. After a brief sojourn in ADC which proved to be a marriage of strange bedfellows, Ladoja with his followers moved to the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) in December 2018.

He became an Oba after he received a ceremonial beaded crown from reigning Olubadan and the Government of Oyo State in August 2024 Oba.  Following the death of Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, the 43rd Olubadan, Ladoja was announced as the incoming Olubadan on 7th July, 2025. 

In August 2024, Ladoja embraced his role as Otun Olubadan by accepting the ceremonial beaded crown, a requirement for ascending to the Olubadan title under the revised chieftaincy declaration.

He stated on a private radio station in Ibadan then: “By the grace of God, I will become Olubadan. My blood pressure has been stable; anyone God destined to become Olubadan will become Olubadan.”

The updated chieftaincy law mandated that only Beaded Crown Obas are eligible for the throne, a change some perceived as politically motivated by Governor Seyi Makinde.

The state government, however, insisted that the amendment aligned with recommendations from the late Oba Balogun’s review committee, framing it as a necessary cultural reform.

The amendment sparked controversies, as Ladoja initially resisted accepting the crown, unlike his peers.

Critics argued that this clause could jeopardise his claim, while Ladoja and his supporters viewed it as a political manoeuvre by Governor Makinde in retaliation for Ladoja’s opposition to his 2023 re-election bid.

Ibadan’s succession has traditionally alternated between civil (Baale/Otun) and military (Balogun) lines for over 170 years.

As the leading civilian contender, Ladoja is next in line for the throne following the passing of the current Olubadan.

With the throne now vacant, the Olubadan-in-Council and kingmakers are set to formally propose the next Olubadan, a decision that will shape the future of Ibadanland.