The selection process of a successor to deceased monarch of Eko-Ende in Osun State, has run into a hitch as the Ayedun ruling house has petitioned Governor Ademola Adeleke, alleging underhand manipulations by the kingmakers in the process.
According to the petition being handled by W. A. Olopade, the petitioners complained of misconduct of the kingmakers, who allegedly refused to follow the law and custom, but instead embraced fraudulent way of selection and undue monetary influence in the selection process.
Head of the Ayedun ruling house, Pa Sulaeman Oyekunle, who led 11 candidates of the house to their solicitors, prayed the governor to use his good offices to set aside the kangaroo selection done by the kingmakers, citing loss of confidence in the procedure.
The 11 candidates present at the writing of the petition were Prince Tiamiyu Sule Adegboyega, Prince Oyekunle Ibrahim, Prince Jimoh Lateef Babatun, Prince Temitope Taiwo, Prince Adebisi Yunusa Adeniyi, and Prince Adeboye Samuel.
Others were Prince Alhaji Ibrahim Oladosu, Prince Abdul Lateef Abioye, Prince Ibrahim Aroyehun, Prince Oladosu Wahab Abiodun, and Prince Oladosu Isiaka.
They prayed the governor to set aside the purported appointment made on November 15, by the kingmakers of Eko-Ende, led by Chief Kolawole Ogunkeye.
Oba Abdul Rauf Olaniyan Ajiboye, Olaigbo VIII, transited on March 26, and it is the turn of the Ayedun ruling house to fill the vacant stool.
When the selection process was disrupted by hoodlums, another process was expected to be organised. The petitioners led by the head of the Ayedun royal family, Prince Suleiman Oyekunle complained of belated notification of the need to convene family meeting and to nominate candidate(s).
A meeting of the Ayedun ruling house family, however, was convened on September 21, and in attendance was the local government staff from the Ifelodun North Local Council Development Authority, Eweta, Ikirun, who in an alleged obtuse and overbearing participation in the meeting, demanded that intending candidates should go ahead to obtain Expression of Interest (EoI) form from both the state government, and the Ifelodun North Local Council Development Authority, Eweta, Ikirun.
This, according to the petition, was followed by the nomination of candidates after which names were forwarded to the kingmakers, through Chief Kolawole Ogunkeye, Eesa of Eko-Ende.
The petitioners’ grouse stemmed from the alleged contravention of the customary/traditional laws in the purported selection of Mr. Waheed Adekunle as the Oba-elect, accusing the kingmakers of imposition.
It is against this backdrop that the petitioners called on Governor Adeleke to set aside the selection of Waheed Adekunle for failure to comply with the law, saying, “Section 20 (3)(a) of the Chiefs Law, Cap.25, Laws of Osun State, empowers Your Excellency to do so.”