Appointment of Owoade as 46th Alaafin; Prince Gbadegesin challenges approval

A candidate initially nominated by the kingmakers(Oyo Mesi) in Oyo, Prince Luqman Gbadegesin has challenged the nomination and presentation of the staff office to Prince Akeem Owoade as the 46th Alaafin of Oyo.

He faulted the selection process through which Prince Owoade emerged saying it contravenes the Chieftaincy Declaration of the ancient town.

Recall that Governor Seyi Makinde had presented the staff of office to the new monarch in Ibadan on Monday after the divination by Prof Wande Abimbola, a reputable Ifa diviner.

In a pre-action notice signed by his legal counsel, Adekunle Sobaloju SAN, he argued that the recognition of the new monarch did not follow the Oyo State Chiefs’ Law 2000.

“By announcing a different candidate, the governor has usurped the powers of the Oyomesi, violating the Alaafin Chieftaincy Declaration of 1961, which makes the Oyomesi the sole authority for the selection of the Alaafin of Oyo”

“The governor’s alleged reliance on Ifa consultation contradicts the judgment of the Oyo State High Court of 19th December 2022, which declared Ifa consultation in the selection process unlawful because it is not contained in the Alaafin Chieftaincy Declaration of 1961, and the allegations of bribery by two Oyomesi members, raised over a year after the election, lack credibility and were not formally communicated to the Governor or investigated,” the letter read.

According to the council, he prays the court to grant “an order setting aside the purported appointment, approval of appointment and presentation of staff of office to Prince Abimbola Akeem Owoade as Alaafin of Oyo as it was done in violation of the provisions of the Chief’s Law of Oyo State, 2000, the Registered Alaafin Chieftaincy Declaration of 1961, unlawful, unconstitutional, invalid, null and void”.

He also wants the court to declare that his client, Prince Gbadegesin “was validly selected and or appointed by the Kingmakers of Alaafin of Oyo as the candidate to fill the vacant stool of the Alaafin of Oyo by Chiefs Law of Oyo State, 2000 and the Registered Alaafin Chieftaincy Declaration of 1961 and therefore his appointment is valid, lawful and proper”.