Igbajo: Kingmakers Boycott Process As Govt Uses Warrant Chiefs To Appoint New Owa

• Famodun Is The Only Owa of Igbajo, We Don’t Have Another Monarch – Obaala

• I Was Manipulated To Vote — Warrant Chief

Kingmakers in Igbajo, Boluwaduro local government of Osun State, have dissociated themselves from the appointment of Prince (Dr.) Ademola Stephen Makinde as the new Owa of Igbajo. 

The kingmakers said the only known Owa of Igbajo is Prince Gboyega Famodun, whom they had elected and performed traditional rites for in 2022. 

The Osun State government had on Monday announced Makinde’s appointment as the new Owa of Igbajo, following the cancellation of the selection process that led to the emergence and installation of Famodun. 

Famodun, who was until his selection as a traditional ruler, the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, was installed on November 25, 2022, by former governor Adegboyega Oyetola.

But his appointment was nullified alongside that of the Oyetola-approved Aree of Iree, Prince Ademola Oluponle, for lack of due process by the state government. 

In a white paper released on January 18, 2024, the state government announced the nullification of Famodun’s appointment, following the adoption of the report and recommendation of the Chieftaincy Review Committee set up by Governor Ademola Adeleke.

The committee reported that “It was established that, though it is the turn of Owa Oke-Ode to ascend the throne of Owa of Igbajo, where Prince Adegboyega Famodun hails from, other contestants were denied a fair hearing and the right to participate in the selection process by the headship of the family and kingmakers.

“It was a pre-planned arrangement with the sole aim of producing Prince Adegboyega Famodun as the new Owa of Igbajo.”

The committee recommended a proper and all-inclusive arrangement wherein all contestants to the throne will be accommodated in the interest of fair play, and equity and in line with the custom and tradition of Owa of Igbajo kingdom.

However, findings by OSUN DEFENDER revealed that the Igbajo kingmakers refused to participate in the selection process for a new traditional ruler for the town.

All the six traditional kingmakers queued behind Famodun as the authentic Owa of Igbajo, insisting that they could not perform any rites for another traditional ruler.

According to investigations by OSUN DEFENDER, Boluwaduro local government appointed five warrant chiefs to replace the traditional kingmakers.

The warrant chiefs, it was gathered, were taken to the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, where they elected Makinde as the new Owa of Igbajo. 

However, one of the warrant chiefs, Mr. Fatai Akintunde, has disclosed that he was manipulated to participate in the selection process by the Chairman of Boluwaduro East (Ajoda) Local Council Development Area, Mr. Biodun Fatooki-Oloba.

Akintunde, in an interview with OSUN DEFENDER yesterday, said: “My local government chairman called me last week Wednesday that there was a programme to attend in Osogbo. Since I am also a politician and we are in the same political party, I obliged him. 

“He took me to the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Osogbo. On getting there, he informed me that we were to vote for a new Owa of Igbajo. I was surprised, but I could not leave the place. 

“We, the Warrant Chiefs, were five. We had six candidates contesting for the Owa’s stool; Prince Makinde had four votes, while another candidate had just one vote. The local government chairman had instructed me to vote for Makinde. I am neither a kingmaker nor a chief. This is the first time we have had that kind of selection process in Igbajo.”

Also, the Obaala of Igbajo, High Chief Sam Ajibodu, who spoke with OSUN DEFENDER on a sick bed, said the kingmakers led by himself never participated in any new selection process. 

He said: “I am the head of the kingmakers in Igbajo, and I know we have selected and installed Owa of Igbajo, who is Gboyega Famodun. We don’t know any other thing aside from that. Let’s leave everything to God.”