The last is yet to be heard of the demolition of the Cenotaph built by former Ondo State Governor, the late Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), in honour of the victims of the deadly 2022 St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church massacre in Owo, as his widow, Dr. Betty Akeredolu-Anyanwu, has sparked a fresh wave of controversy.

During the former First Lady’s visit to her late husband’s graveside in Owo on Tuesday, she described the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye, as a “baby oba”.

The Guardian reports that the first-class monarch also doubles as Chairman, Ondo State Council of Obas.

In a three-minute, 16-second video which she posted on her official social media handles, the former First Lady is seen speaking emotionally at her husband’s graveside.

With palpable emotion, she accused the revered traditional ruler of betraying her late husband’s memory, claiming that the people of Owo had dismantled the progress they had made together.

She also revealed that her late husband had single-handedly installed the monarch during his tenure as governor.

Her words: “Darling, I’ve always known you to love your people to pieces; this is your Owo people. But look at what they’ve done to you. They didn’t blink an eye at rubbishing you, rubbishing your memory, rubbishing your legacy.

“As they claim, spearheaded by the Olowo of Owo, whom you single-handedly installed…. this is a known fact. It’s no longer a secret. You single-handedly installed that baby Oba.”

She also described the Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as an “enabler”, adding that the demolition was done to settle political scores.

The former first lady insisted that no corpse was buried at the Cenotaph, noting that the monument was merely symbolic.

The monument, located directly in front of the Olowo’s palace, was removed after the palace raised objections.

Some believed that the presence of a death-related structure near the palace violated a long-held cultural norm in Owo.

But Akeredolu-Anyanwu would have none of that, insisting that “the Oba that doesn’t want so-called cemetery, but that’s not a cemetery. There’s one behind his house. He sleeps with the dead. All the Olowos of Owo, where were they buried? Were they not buried in that place he’s living? Look at the hypocrisy!”

She vowed to fight and protect the legacy of her late husband.