Oyo kingmakers reject Makinde’s appointment of Owoade as new Alaafin

The Oyo kingmakers have kicked against the appointment of Prince Abimbola Akeem Owoade by Governor Seyi Makinde as the new Alaafin of Oyo.

The kingmakers, in a letter signed on Friday by their legal representative, Adekunle Sobalolu, and addressed to the state governor, declared the appointment of Owoade as null and void, illegal and unlawful.

The Informant247 reports that Prince Akeem Owoade was appointed as the new Alaafin of Oyo on Friday by Governor Makinde.

A statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said that Prince Abimbola Akeem Owoade, after thorough consultations and divinations, has been recommended by the Oyomesi and approved by the Governor of Oyo State.

However, the kingmakers, in a letter, claimed they never recommended Owoade to the state government at any time, saying the only person they recommended on Sept. 30, 2022, by the majority of the kingmakers’ lawful votes as the next Alaafin, was Prince Lukman Gbadegesin.

The five kingmakers objecting to the governor’s appointment of the Alaafin-elect are the Bashorun of Oyo, High Chief Yusuf Layinka; the Lagunna of Oyo, High Chief Wakeel Oyedepo, and the Akinniku of Oyo, High Chief Hamzat Yusuf.

The two others are Chief Wahab Oyetunji, the warrant chief for Asipa of Oyo, and Chief Gbadebo Mufutau, who stands for Alapinní of Oyo.

“Prince Lukman Adelodun Gbadegesin, having obtained the majority of votes of the kingmakers present, was deemed appointed, and his name was forwarded to Your Excellency as the candidate appointed by the kingmakers as Alaafin of Oyo for your approval, which you refused to approve for no disclosed reason at all.

“The kingmakers thereafter filed an action to stop Your Excellency from truncating the process, which culminated in the present appeal at the Court of Appeal,” they said.

They noted they were surprised the government claimed in its announcement that Owoade’s selection was made after wide consultation and divination.

“We must emphatically state that the Alaafin is not chosen by consultation or divination but in strict compliance with the Registered Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy Declaration of 1967.

“This codifies the native law and custom governing the selection process for the vacant stool of the Alaafin.

“Under the Registered Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy Declaration of 1967, it is only the Bashorun of Oyo, the head of the Oyomesi and Kingmakers, that can summon a meeting of the kingmakers for the purpose of selecting a candidate to fill the vacant stool of the Alaafin of Oyo.

“In this instance, the Bashorun did not summon any such meeting, nor was there any meeting convened in the Alaafin’s palace, as custom demands, where the said Prince Abimbola Akeem Owoade was selected or appointed as the new Alaafin,” they said.

Oluwo lauds Makinde over appointment of Owoade as new Alaafin of Oyo

The kingmakers said the meeting held at the Governor’s Office or elsewhere on Thursday to select the governor’s preferred candidate was unlawful and illegal.

“It is not the duty of the governor to convene the meeting of few kingmakers and emergency warrant chiefs to select or appoint a new Alaafin on the 9th of January 2025 and hurriedly approve the appointment on the 10th of January 2025,” said the kingmakers.

They, however, said they had appealed to sons and daughters of Oyo Kingdom to remain calm as they intended to challenge the action in court.

Matters arising

Oyo kingmakers oppose Makinde’s fresh selection process, insist Gbadegesin is Alaafin-elect

Meanwhile, the five Oyo kingmakers on Thursday, faulted Governor Seyi Makinde’s directive to initiate a fresh selection process to pick a new Alaafin of Oyo, insisting that Prince Lukman Gbadegesin had already been chosen as the Alaafin-elect.

The kingmakers opposing the governor’s action include the Basorun of Oyo, High Chief Yusuf Akinade; the Lagunna of Oyo, High Chief Wakeel Akindele; the Akinniku of Oyo, High Chief Hamzat Yusuf; a warrant chief standing in for Asipa of Oyo, Chief Wahab Oyetunji; and a warrant chief standing in for Alapinni of Oyo, Chief Gbadebo Mufutau.

The kingmakers, in a letter addressed to the governor and signed by their legal counsel, Adekunle Sobaloju (SAN), said, “We have just been reliably informed by our clients that you have just through the Oyo State Commissioner for Chieftaincy Affairs and Chairmen of Atiba and Oyo East Local Government appointed (i) Chief Odurinde Olusegun (Alajagba of Ajagba) (ii) Chief Ganiyu Ajiboye (Alago-Oja of Ago Oja) as warrant kingmakers to join High Chief Asimiyu Atanda (Agbaakin of Oyo) and High Chief Lamidi Oyewale (Samu of Oyo) to kickstart the process of selecting another candidate to fill the vacant stool of Alafin of Oyo.

“The two local government chairmen and the said warrant chiefs and High Chief Asimiyu Atanda (Agbaakin of Oyo) and High Chief Lamidi Oyewale (Samu of Oyo), who are not in support of the decision of the majority of the kingmakers that selected Prince Lukman Adelodun Gbadegesin as the Alafin-elect were summoned today, 9th January 2025 to the office of the Oyo State Commissioner for Chieftaincy Affairs where they were ordered to commence a fresh process to fill the vacant stool of Alafin of Oyo.”

Sobaloju described the move as illegal and disrespectful to the judiciary, noting that the matter is still before the court, warning that disregarding the court’s authority undermines governance and violates the constitution.

He likened the move to a previous incident where Makinde disregarded court proceedings to dissolve democratically elected local government chairmen.

He added, “Proceeding to commence a fresh process for the filling of the vacant stool of Alafin of Oyo would be subjudice and tantamount to lawlessness and disregard of the superior courts of record, an act which Your Excellency ought to distance yourself from.

“We, therefore, once more request and urge Your Excellency to suspend any plan to kick start fresh process for the filling of the vacant stool of Alafin of Oyo during the pendency of a motion for injunction, pending appeal in obedience to law and integrity of our courts.”