The Fusengbuwa Ruling House in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, has rejected the reported removal of three of its top officials, insisting that they remain the legitimate leaders of the family.
At a meeting on Wednesday, the Grand Council passed a vote of confidence in Chairman Abdulateef Owoyemi, his deputy, Oladokun Ajidagba, and Vice Chairman Prof Fassy Yusuf.
The three officials were reportedly removed following allegations of financial inducement, document manipulation and other irregularities connected to the process of choosing the next Awujale of Ijebuland.
However, the council dismissed the committee that announced their removal, questioning its authority to act on behalf of the ruling house.
The family also denied the allegations against its leaders, accusing the group behind the removal claim of attempting to damage their reputation and influence the selection of the next monarch.
Speaking at a press conference in Ijebu-Ode, Owoyemi explained that the ruling house had previously been divided into three factions before reaching an agreement following the intervention of the Ogun State Government.
He said the reconciliation eventually led to his emergence as chairman/Olori-Ebi, with Ajidagba and Yusuf becoming deputy chairman/Igbakeji Olori-Ebi and vice chairman/Eta Olori-Ebi respectively.
He said: “None of the impostors or usurpers is a member. Consequently, they have no authority or power, whatsoever, to constitute whatsoever, to constitute any meeting nor set up any committee in any material particular.
“We have thoroughly investigated the activities of these charlatans, and we are convinced that they are acting out a script that, if not challenged, would have a devastating effect on the family, disrupt and overturn the family’s entitlement to the Awujale throne.
“Apart from challenging the activities of this group, we are also individually actioning their conduct, innuendos created and the defamation in the law court. They will surely need to pay for their indiscretions, incorrigibility and misconduct.”
Owoyemi further said: “The illegal and kangaroo group led by one Adeleke Adeyemi, the self-styled secretary, Muyiwa Adeleye, self-styled public relations officer, Ridwan Oduneye (secretary of the purported Fusengbuwa fact-finding committee) and Olusegun Olusoga (chairman of the purported Fusengbuwa fact-finding committee), and their cohorts hereby declared enemies of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.”
The family subsequently threatened legal action over what it described as defamatory claims against its leaders.
It also appealed to Governor Dapo Abiodun to lift the suspension placed on the Awujale selection exercise, saying the prolonged delay was fuelling disagreements within the ruling house.
Yusuf echoed the call, saying the family had already appealed to the government in May to allow the kingmakers to resume their constitutional responsibility.
He said: “I mean, strictly speaking, the government has no authority whatsoever. Of course! Government is not empowered under any known law to halt any process.
“Quite unprecedented. And we have decided because we cannot unleash all our strategies in the open. If the government is not doing what it ought to do, we’ll do what we should do.”
But the secretary of the fact-finding committee, Ridwan Oduneye, rejected the allegations that his group were impostors or were seeking to destabilise the ruling house.
He said: “we are only working to restore due process, unity and the integrity of the Fusegbuwa/Jadiara Ruling House.”
Oduneye maintained that the committee acted on the outcome of its investigation and a resolution reached at a general meeting of the ruling house on August 9, which he said had 115 members in attendance.
He said: “That resolution removed the trio and appointed Prince Adeleke Adeyemi as the interim secretary and authorised signatory of the House pending the election of a new Olori-Ebi.”
He added that the group was prepared to defend its position in court if necessary.
The dispute began after the faction led by Adeleke Adeyemi announced on Sunday that Owoyemi, Ajidagba and Yusuf had been removed following the submission of a 25-page report by a nine-member fact-finding committee.
The committee had been established in June to examine petitions alleging financial inducement and other irregularities involving the selection of candidates for the vacant Awujale throne.
The monarch’s stool has remained vacant since July 2025, when Oba Sikiru Adetona died at 91 after spending 65 years on the throne.
The Ogun State Government halted the selection process in January 2026 following petitions from security agencies and other stakeholders.
Before the suspension, 95 aspirants, including 94 princes and one princess, had emerged from the ruling house nomination exercise.
