The Awujale Afobaje Council has distanced itself from an alleged letter reportedly sent by the Olisa of Ijebu-Ode, Chief Rasheed Adesanya, to Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, concerning the selection of a new Awujale of Ijebuland.
The council described the move as irregular and unauthorised, insisting that the process for choosing a successor to the late Awujale remains suspended by the state government.
Speaking on a current affairs programme monitored in Abeokuta, the Secretary of the Afobaje Council, Chief Ayotunde Ola Odulaja, said the council had neither reconvened nor undertaken any activity relating to the succession process since receiving a government directive suspending the exercise in January.
Odulaja stated that the council had complied fully with the directive and had not held any meeting concerning the vacant stool.
He maintained that any correspondence purportedly issued on behalf of the kingmakers during the suspension period lacked the approval of the Afobaje Council.
According to him, the Olisa is not the chairman of the kingmakers’ council and therefore has no authority to speak or act on its behalf.
He said the recognised chairman of the Afobaje Council remains the Ogbeni Oja of Ijebu-Ode, Chief Sonny Kuku, adding that the Olisa is only one of the council’s nine members.
Odulaja further rejected claims that Adesanya heads the body responsible for selecting a new Awujale, explaining that while the Olisa presides over the Ilamuren Council, it is separate from the Afobaje Council charged with the traditional responsibility of appointing the Awujale.
The council secretary also dismissed reports suggesting that Governor Abiodun requested names from the Olisa for consideration, noting that the state government had already refuted such claims.
He said there had been no engagement between the Afobaje Council and the Olisa since the suspension order took effect, stressing that no meeting had been convened to discuss succession matters.
Odulaja also faulted references to the Olisa as “Alaiyeluwa,” arguing that the title is traditionally reserved for the Awujale as the paramount ruler of Ijebuland.
According to him, the Olisa remains a traditional chief within the existing hierarchy and does not occupy the position of a monarch.
He urged members of the public to disregard any information suggesting that the succession process had resumed, reiterating that the exercise remains on hold pending fresh directives from the Ogun State Government.
The Awujale stool became vacant following the death of the late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona. The succession process has since been suspended amid disagreements and controversies surrounding the procedure for selecting a new monarch.
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