The Fusengbuwa Ruling House, which is next in line to produce the new Awujale of Ijebuland, has been thrown into another leadership crisis following a dispute over the authority to oversee the succession process.
A faction within the ruling house reportedly announced the removal of the chairman and Olori-Ebi, Abdulateef Owoyemi, alongside other senior officials, following the adoption of a fact-finding committeeโs report.
However, the Grand Council of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House has rejected the purported removal, describing the committee responsible as a โkangaroo committeeโ and insisting that it lacked the authority to dissolve the existing leadership.
The council said its current leadership emerged from a reconciliation process involving previously divided factions within the ruling house, with the structure subsequently expanded to a 15-member Grand Council.
The council also rejected allegations of financial inducement and other irregularities levelled against its leadership, maintaining that the allegations were unfounded.
The dispute comes amid the already delayed process to select a successor to the late Awujale, Oba Sikiru Adetona, who died in July 2025 after more than six decades on the throne.
The Ogun State Government had earlier suspended the succession process following petitions and concerns surrounding the conduct of the exercise.
With the latest disagreement now threatening the unity of the ruling house, the Fusengbuwa leadership has indicated that it may seek legal redress over what it considers defamatory claims and attempts to undermine its authority.
The unfolding crisis adds another complication to the highly anticipated selection of the next Awujale of Ijebuland.