January 11, 2025
By Ayinde Adeleke
A faction of the Oyo Mesi, also known as kingmakers, has rejected the appointment of Abimbola Owoade as the new Alaafin of Oyo.
This rejection comes after Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State approved Owoade’s appointment on Friday.
The faction, comprising five of the seven kingmakers in the state, argued that Owoade’s appointment was illegal and did not follow due process.
In a letter signed by their legal counsel, Adekunle Sobaloju, they claimed to have forwarded the name of Prince Lukman Adelodun Gbadegesin as the Alaafin of Oyo, chosen by a majority of the lawful votes of the kingmakers in 2022.
According to the letter, “You will recall that on 30th September 2022, at the meeting of the Kingmakers in accordance with the Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy Declaration, 1961, the Kingmakers appointed Prince Lukman Adelodun Gbadegesin as the Alaafin of Oyo by a majority of the lawful votes of the Kingmakers.”
The faction emphasized that the Alaafin is not chosen by consultation or divination but in strict compliance with the Registered Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy Declaration of 1967. They also stated that only the Bashorun of Oyo, the head of the Oyomesi and kingmakers, can summon a meeting to select a candidate.
The letter further reads, “Any meeting of few kingmakers and emergency warrant chiefs held at the Governor’s office on the 9th of January, 2025, or elsewhere at the instance of the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, to select the preferred candidate of the Governor as the new Alaafin is not only contrary to the native law and custom and Chieftaincy Declaration of Alafin of Oyo Chieftaincy but unlawful, illegal, invalid, null, and void.”
The faction has assured that they will challenge this “unlawful action” in court, stating that it will not withstand judicial scrutiny.
They have also advised Governor Makinde to retrace his steps and allow the kingmakers to discharge their duties without interference.
