Kingmakers in Oyo Town on Friday rejected Gov. Seyi
Makinde’s appointment of Prince Abimbola Owoade as the new Alaafin of
Oyo.
The kingmakers , in a letter signed 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 News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls the Oyo State
Government had earlier on Friday announced Owoade as the Alaafin-elect.
The kingmakers claimed they never recommended Owoade
to the state government at any time.
They insisted 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.
NAN reports that five kingmakers are objecting to the
governor’s appointment of the Alaafin-elect.
The five kingmakers 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 standing in for Asipa of Oyo, and Chief Gbadebo Mufutau, the warrant
chief standing in 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.
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. (NAN)
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