- Threatens Court Action
By Abiola Olawale
The Oyo Mesi, known as the kingmakers in Oyo, have rejected the appointment of Prince Abimbola Owoade as the new Alaafin by Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, describing it as illegal and unlawful.
Five out of the total seven kingmakers declared the appointment null and void, insisting that they did not recommend Owoade’s name to the state government.
The five kingmakers are the Bashorun of Oyo, High Chief Yusuf Layinka; the Lagunna of Oyo, High Chief Wakeel Oyedepo; the Akinniku of Oyo, High Chief Hamzat Yusuf; Chief Wahab Oyetunji, the warrant chief standing in for Asipa of Oyo, and Chief Gbadebo Mufutau, the warrant chief standing in for Alapinní of Oyo.
Instead, they claim that Prince Lukman Gbadegesin was the candidate they recommended for the position back in September 2022, in accordance with the required the majority vote in respect of the Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy Declaration of 1961.
The kingmakers made this known in a letter signed by their legal representative, Adekunle Sobalolu, and addressed to the Oyo state governor.
They argued that the process for selecting Owoade contravened traditional and legal procedures, criticising the governor for not approving their original choice without providing any reasons.
The kingmakers also expressed their intention to legally challenge this appointment, highlighting that it goes against established customs and the ongoing court case regarding the selection process.
The letter reads in part: “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.
“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 to select 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.
“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.”
