The Fusengbuwa Ruling House of Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, has petitioned Governor Dapo Abiodun over the emergence of a breakaway faction within the family, urging the state government not to recognise the group in the ongoing process to select the next Awujale of Ijebuland.
The ruling house also appealed to Abiodun to lift the over seven-month-old suspension of the selection process and direct the kingmakers to resume their duties to pave the way for the emergence of a new monarch.
The petition, dated August 15, 2026, was signed by the Chairman of the ruling house, Otunba Abdul Lateef Adebayo Owoyemi; Deputy Chairman, Otunba Oladokun Ajidagba; Vice Chairman, Prof. Fassy Adetokunboh Yusuf; and General Secretary, Pastor Prince J. Bola Salami.
Copies were submitted to the Governor’s Office on Monday and sent to the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Secretary to the State Government, Chairman of Ijebu-Ode Local Government and Chairman of the Awujale Afobajes Council.
The ruling house alleged that the breakaway group was led by Adeleke Adeyemi, whom it identified as a former member of the Otunba Ajidagba Unit, one of the three units involved in nominating candidates for the vacant stool.
It accused Adeyemi and his associates of engaging in activities capable of causing division within the ruling house and undermining the nomination process.
The petitioners said, “We wish to bring to Your Excellency’s attention the unorthodox formation and unlawful activities by some rebellious contestants to the Awujale stool, led by one Adeleke Adeyemi.”
They alleged that Adeyemi had convened meetings in the name of the Olori Ebi of the Ajidagba Unit and, alongside one Ridwan Oduneye, constituted a Fact Finding Committee which they claimed was set up to discredit some leaders of the ruling house.
The petitioners further alleged that the committee’s activities violated a subsisting judgment of the Ijebu-Ode High Court in Suit No. HCJ/18/2014, which, according to them, barred one unit of the ruling house from interfering in the affairs of another.
They also alleged that the group held a meeting where it purportedly sought to remove the three recognised Olori Ebis of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House—Owoyemi, Ajidagba and Yusuf.
The trio, according to the petitioners, played key roles in the nomination of candidates for the vacant Awujale stool.
The ruling house maintained that the nomination exercise was conducted peacefully and in accordance with the relevant law, declaration and tradition.
It also referred to a petition submitted to the governor in January 2026 by counsel to Fuji musician, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, popularly known as KWAM 1, Dr Wahab Shittu, SAN.
The ruling house alleged that Oduneye’s name featured in the earlier petition as one of those purportedly disenfranchised from the nomination exercise.
It, however, argued that Oduneye and some others were not selected to participate because of the limited capacity of the venue.
The petitioners further alleged that Oduneye and his father had admitted to visiting KWAM 1’s residence to sign a Fusengbuwa Ruling House membership form on behalf of the musician in an attempt to make him a contestant for the Awujale stool.
The ruling house described the alleged act as sacrilegious, insisting that the Fuji musician was not a member of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
The petitioners said the breakaway faction had begun corresponding with the state government in an alleged attempt to secure official recognition and overturn the outcome of the nomination exercise.
They urged Abiodun to disregard the group and direct the Afobajes to return to the process and complete their assigned responsibilities.
The petitioners said, “The aim of these renegades is to precipitate crises and deny our Ruling House from producing the next Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland.”
However, Oduneye, who responded on behalf of the breakaway group, dismissed the allegations, saying the petition was an attempt to distract the public from the issues raised by the group.
He said the group was not interfering with the selection process but was seeking the restructuring of the ruling house.
“I am aware of the petition. We are only talking about the restructuring of our house and not about the selection process. This is not a matter that has anything to do with the government,” Oduneye said.
He added that the group wanted the leaders of the ruling house to defend allegations of financial inducement levelled against them, insisting that their removal was based on a family decision.
The dispute followed the rejection by Owoyemi, Ajidagba and Yusuf of their purported removal as leaders of the ruling house by the breakaway faction.
The three leaders described allegations of financial inducement against them as false and threatened legal action against the Fact Finding Committee.
Oduneye, the Secretary of the committee, however, maintained that the panel stood by its decision and that the three leaders remained removed following the family meeting held on August 9, 2026.
He said the group welcomed the proposed court action, describing litigation as the appropriate avenue for resolving the dispute.
“Litigation is a civil way of seeking redress. The court will be the best place to establish who has betrayed the House and who is pursuing personal interest at the expense of the collective,” Oduneye said.
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