Ruling House Accuses Moneybags of Trying to Influence Awujale Selection
Ruling House Accuses Moneybags of Trying to Influence Awujale Selection
The Head of the Fusengbuwa ruling house in Ijebu Ode, Abdulateef Owoyemi, revealed on Saturday that the family had rejected monetary offers from no fewer than eight aspirants seeking to become the next Awujale of Ijebuland.
The Fusengbuwa ruling house is next in line to produce a successor to the late Awujale and paramount ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, who passed away on July 13 after a 65-year reign.
Speaking with journalists at his country home in Idowa Ijebu, Owoyemi vowed that the choice of the next Awujale would not be swayed by wealthy individuals.
“So far, eight contenders for the Awujale stool have approached us with money, but we rejected their offers,” he said. “The council of elders made it clear to them that such practices will not be tolerated.”
All that matters to us is a transparent and fair selection process where only the best from our ruling house are put forward to the kingmakers for the selection as the next Awujale.”
The Chartered Accountant said that the late Awujale, during his lifetime, warned that the choice of his successor should not be allowed to be dictated by people with deep pockets or moneybags, as this will cause a lot of setbacks for Ijebu land.
Owoyemi said, “During the 2019 Ojude Oba festival, when it was being said that some people have budgeted N1bn to spend so that they can become the next Awujale, Oba Adetona warned that his succession must not be allowed to be hijacked by moneybags.
Oba Adetona said that though he never knew when his time would be up, whenever it happened, his successor must be the right candidate -the person who can further take Ijebu Ode to greater height, not the person who will bring it down and that has been our guiding spirit.
“We won’t yield the ground for whoever thinks he has the money to throw around.”
Owoyemi, while speaking on some cracks within the ruling house, extended an olive branch, urging family members to sheath their swords and join forces with the leadership of the family to produce the best ever Awujale in the history of Ijebu and Yoruba land as a whole.
He stressed, “We have always been talking to everyone to be of one accord. We are even ready to make a concession as long as it is not injurious or unreasonable for the sake of peace, because we are from the same mother. Why should there be strife and unnecessary wranglings?”
The former ICAN President also used the medium to dismiss the claim by Prince Adedokun Ajidagba as the legitimate head of the Fusengbuwa ruling house, saying that the Ibadan Court of Appeal judgement of 2024 ruled in his favour as the Olori Ebi appointed since 201,3 after the death of Prince Fasasi Adeyemi
Owoyemi explained that after his appointment as the Olori Ebi of Fusengbuwa in March 2013, a splinter group had also appointed the late billionaire banker and founder of First City Monument Bank, Otunba Subomi Balogun, as the head of the same family.
He stated that he had challenged this anomaly at a High Court sitting at Ijebu Ode and that, while giving his judgment in 2018, Justice Asenuga resolved two of the issues brought before the court in his favour but failed to declare him as the Olori Ebi of Fusengbuwa.
He explained that he had taken his case to the Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan, where on November 28, 2024, Justice Binta Fatima Zubairu delivered judgment in his favour, resolving all seven issues raised before the court.
According to the Certified True Copy of the judgment made available to journalists, the three Justices of the Appeal Court ruled that the defendants failed to substantiate the allegation of fraud, which had formed the basis for the 2018 decision of the Ijebu Ode High Court not to recognise Owoyemi as the duly appointed head of the ruling family.
Owoyemi noted that, in a letter dated November 22, 2023, addressed to the Permanent Secretary of the Ogun State Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ajidagba was named acting head of the ruling house pending the outcome of the appeal he filed against the 2018 judgment.
“As God would have it, the Court of Appeal upheld all my prayers, reaffirming my leadership of the ruling house since 2013,” Owoyemi stated.
He further explained that, following the Appeal Court’s ruling, the other faction of the ruling house, formerly led by renowned ophthalmologist and Eye Foundation Hospital founder, Dr. Kunle Hassan, conceded to the court’s decision after dialogue last Sunday, thereby recognising his leadership.
Owoyemi also recalled that the late Awujale, Oba Sikiru Adetona, had invited him back to the palace in February 2025 to reconcile, encouraging him to maintain close contact as a senior titleholder and trusted ally in his administration.
Reaffirming his heritage, he stressed that he remains a true son of Ijebuland from Idowa Ijebu, and that past attempts to distort history have been laid to rest by the November 2024 Appeal Court judgment.
The octogenarian urged members of the ruling house to put aside division, strife, and greed, and to work together in unity for a peaceful and transparent process in selecting the next Awujale.
