Leaders of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House in Ijebu-Ode have reaffirmed their unity and resolve to produce the next Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland. They also cautioned against alleged efforts to prevent the family from exercising what they described as its lawful right to occupy the vacant traditional stool.
The leaders made their position known on Saturday following an enlarged meeting of princes and princesses of the ruling house held at Ile Nla (Agunsebi), Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.
The meeting was convened to discuss the delay in the selection of the next Awujale and was co-chaired by Otunba Abdulateef Owoyemi, Chairman and Head of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House Family; Otunba Adedokun Ajidagba, Deputy Chairman; and Professor Fassy Yusuf, Vice Chairman.
During the meeting, the leadership updated members from the various branches of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House on developments concerning the selection process, as well as the legal measures being pursued to resolve the delay.
The meeting also considered the rationale behind the court action instituted against Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, nine Ijebu-Ode kingmakers and five other defendants, as well as the order being sought to compel the defendants to conclude the selection process.
At the end of the meeting, members endorsed decisions previously taken by the ruling house leadership and expressed renewed confidence in its ability to steer the family through the ongoing process.
Speaking with journalists after the meeting, Otunba Owoyemi, the Chairman of the ruling house and former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), said the gathering was primarily aimed at updating members on the situation and explaining the steps taken by the leadership to protect the interests of the ruling house.
“The meeting was called to update and brief members of Fusengbuwa Ruling House about the stalled selection process for the next Awujale and the steps we have taken to address the issue. The large attendance is an attestation of unity. The house is united. Princes and princesses came from Lagos and other places. They supported our decision, and they have confidence in our leadership and the things we are doing.”
Owoyemi alleged that some individuals were working to frustrate the ruling house’s effort to produce the next Awujale, saying such actions could ultimately be used to question the house’s eligibility to produce the monarch. “Our enemies are those who want to spoil things so that they will come back to say our ruling house cannot produce the next Awujale again,” he said.
The ruling house leadership maintained that its current legal action was aimed at ensuring that the established selection process was concluded and that the Fusengbuwa Ruling House was allowed to exercise what it described as its legitimate opportunity in the succession process.
Recall that the ruling house had dragged Governor Dapo Abiodun, the Awujale kingmakers and five others, including the Chairman of Ijebu-Ode Local Government, Dare Alebiosu, before the High Court sitting in Ijebu-Ode, seeking orders compelling the completion of the process for the selection of the next Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland.
The suit, numbered HCJ/149/2026 and dated August 21, 2026, was filed by Otunba Owoyemi, chairman of the ruling house; Otunba Adedokun Ajidagba, deputy chairman; and Prof. Chief Fassy Yusuf, vice chairman of the royal house.
Also joined in the suit were the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General of the state, Mr Oluwasina Ogungbade, SAN; the Ogun State Executive Council; the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ganiyu Hamzat; and the Secretary of Ijebu-Ode Local Government.
Others listed as defendants are members of the Awujale Afobaje/Kingmakers Council, including Olorogun Sonny Kuku, Chief Rasheed Adesanya, Chief Oluwaranti Lekan Osifeso, Chief Jimi Lawal, Chief Abimbola Okenla, Chief Kunle Ogunade, Chief Agboola Alausa, Chief Adebisi Adaran and Chief Ayotunde Ola Odulaja.
The claimants are asking the court to determine whether the government had the legal power to order or facilitate the alleged entry into and locking of the Awujale Palace on January 20, 2026, “to physically prevent” the kingmakers from convening and concluding their statutory selection process for the new Awujale.
They also want the court to determine whether the Obas and Chiefs Law permits the state government to halt the nomination or selection process for the Awujale “under any guise.”
The claimants are further seeking a determination that, having convened a meeting of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House and completed its internal nomination process within the period prescribed by law, the family had discharged its statutory responsibility under Section 16 of the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State 2021.
A vacation judge, Justice A. A. Omoniyi of Court 3, Ogun State High Court, sitting in Ijebu-Ode, on Wednesday gave an interim ruling returning the suit filed by the ruling house against Governor Dapo Abiodun, the nine kingmakers and others to the administrative judge for reassignment.
Justice Omoniyi said he would be embarking on his annual vacation within the next one week and might not return to duty until January 2027.
He said he was aware of the urgency of the suit, numbered HCJ/149/2026 and filed on August 21, 2026, but was constrained by time, having only one week left before embarking on his annual vacation.
The Awujale stool became vacant in July 2025 following the death of Oba Sikiru Adetona at the age of 91, after 65 years on the throne.
The Ogun State Government had halted the selection process in January 2026, citing petitions from security agencies and stakeholders, following an earlier suspension over procedural concerns in December 2025.
A total of 95 aspirants — 94 princes and one princess — had emerged from the ruling house nomination process held in Ijebu-Ode in December before the government halted the selection process.
