Awujale: Fusengbuwa ruling house rejects rival leadership, warns against parallel selection process

Fusengbuwa Ruling House of Ijebu-Ode has expressed concern over the prolonged delay in the appointment of a new Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland, alleging interference in the succession process by the Ogun State Government.

The Olori Ebi of the ruling house, Otunba Abdulateef Owoyemi, made the allegations while speaking with an Eagle 102.5 FM reporter on Saturday.

Owoyemi alleged that the state government was sponsoring individuals within the family to frustrate the process and undermine the authority of the recognised leadership of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.

He also rejected a proposed press conference scheduled for Sunday, September 20, 2026, which, according to him, was intended to announce another individual as Olori Ebi of the ruling house and challenge the existing family leadership structure.

Owoyemi maintained that, as the recognised head of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, the family had completed its internal nomination process in accordance with the applicable traditional and legal procedures.

According to him, the ruling house was given 14 days to complete its internal nomination exercise, but concluded the process within 10 days before submitting the required documents and names of its candidates to the Awujale kingmakers.

He said the kingmakers were subsequently expected to complete their stage of the process within seven days and forward a single candidate to the Ogun State Governor for approval and enthronement.

Owoyemi questioned the continued delay, alleging that the intervention of the state government had disrupted a process which the ruling house believed had already commenced in accordance with the relevant procedures.

He further alleged that some individuals within the family were being encouraged by unnamed persons within the state government structure to initiate a parallel process capable of undermining the authority of the ruling house.

The Olori Ebi, therefore, maintained that any meeting, decision or announcement purporting to select another candidate outside the process conducted by the ruling house would be invalid.

The development comes amid an ongoing legal dispute over the stalled process for selecting the successor to the late Awujale, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona.

The Fusengbuwa Ruling House had earlier instituted Suit No. HCJ/149/2026 before the Ogun State High Court sitting in Ijebu-Ode against Governor Dapo Abiodun, members of the Awujale kingmakers and other government officials, seeking orders compelling the relevant authorities to conclude the selection process. The suit was filed on August 21, 2026.

A vacation judge, Justice A.A. Omoniyi, subsequently returned the case file to the administrative judge for reassignment because of his impending annual vacation. The matter was fixed for September 23, 2026, for further proceedings.

In a related development, the leadership of the ruling house instituted Suit No. HCJ/167/2026 on September 16, 2026, against 12 members of the family over an alleged attempt to remove the existing leadership and interfere with the ruling house’s structure.

The claimants include Owoyemi, Deputy Chairman, Otunba Dokun Ajidagba, Vice Chairman, Prof. Fassy Yusuf and Secretary Pastor Jeremiah Salami. They are seeking, among other reliefs, an injunction restraining the defendants from presenting themselves as leaders or principal officers of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, as well as N1 billion in damages over allegations contained in the dispute.

The ruling house has maintained that its leadership structure was established following a resolution reached at a family meeting on November 7, 2025, after a meeting convened by the Ogun State Government at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, on November 6, 2025.

According to the claimants in the second suit, three units of the ruling house were subsequently merged into one structure led by Owoyemi, Ajidagba and Yusuf.

The ruling house has also maintained that it completed its part of the Awujale selection process within the stipulated period, alleging that the subsequent stage was halted following petitions and security reports which, it said, were not made available to its leadership.

The Awujale stool became vacant following the death of Oba Sikiru Adetona in July 2025, after about 65 years on the throne.

The Ogun State Government subsequently suspended the succession process amid petitions and security concerns. Reports indicate that 95 aspirants emerged from the ruling house’s nomination exercise before the process was halted.

The latest developments have added another layer to the dispute surrounding the process for determining the next occupant of the revered Awujale stool, with the competing claims over the leadership of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House now also before the courts.