Akire of Ikire Obaship Tussle, 34 Years Battle Ends As Agreement Reached On New Declaration

The ancient town of Ikire had been embroiled in crisis that saw the royal stool entangled in legal and social upheavals, as part of efforts at amicable resolution of the Akire kingship tussle in Ikire, Irewole Local Government Area, the government of the State of Osun, on Monday, approved the amendment of the Ikire Chieftaincy Declaration of 1958 as recommended by the five ruling houses and the king makers.
The Ikire Chieftaincy Declaration is the document which governs the management of the royal stool of Ikire Kingdom.

This was disclosed through a press statement by the Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mrs Funke Egbemode, after the State Executive Council meeting on Monday.

It would be recalled that the Aketula ruling house in Ikire had filed a suit against the installation of the current Akire of Ikire, Oba Olatunde Falabi, on the ground that he was not entitled to the royal stool, according to the provision of the Ikire Chieftaincy Declaration of 1958.

The new declaration as recommended by the ruling houses and the kingmakers and approved by the State Executive Council shows the ruling houses rotating Akire stool after the current occupant as follows:
1. Aketula ruling house
2. Ladekan ruling house
3. Disamu ruling house
4. Onisokan ruling house and
5. Lambeloye ruling house.

The statement reads in part: “The Council’s approval of the amendment of the Ikire Chieftaincy Declaration was necessitated by the lingering crisis generated by the Supreme Court judgment of 2014 which affirmed that Lambeloye ruling house that produced Oba Olatunde Falabi, had no legal right to occupy the stool of Akire of Ikire when it became vacant in 1987.

“This act, which lends credence to the commitment of Oyetola’s administration to maintaining peace in the State, marked the culmination of a deliberate and strategic intervention of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola in the tussle through a peace meeting with the five ruling houses in October 2020”, the statement reads.