The Grand Council of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, has rejected the purported removal of its chairman, Abdulateef Owoyemi, deputy chairman, Oladokun Ajidagba, and vice chairman, Prof Fassy Yusuf.
At a press briefing in Ijebu-Ode on Wednesday, the council passed a vote of confidence in the three leaders and described the nine-member fact-finding committee that announced their removal as an “illegal and kangaroo group”.
The council said those behind the move were “usurpers and impostors” with no authority to act on behalf of the ruling house. It also dismissed allegations of financial inducement and irregularities in the selection of the next Awujale as baseless.
Speaking for the council, Owoyemi said the current leadership emerged after three factions within the family reconciled following the intervention of the Ogun State Government.
He said the delegation that represented the three factions before the state government comprised 12 members, four from each faction, and that three others were later co-opted, bringing the Grand Council’s membership to 15.
Owoyemi said: “None of the impostors or usurpers is a member. Consequently, they have no authority or power, whatsoever, to constitute whatsoever, to constitute any meeting nor set up any committee in any material particular.”
He accused the group of attempting to undermine the family’s claim to the Awujale throne and said the council would seek legal redress.
“We have thoroughly investigated the activities of these charlatans, and we are convinced that they are acting out a script that, if not challenged, would have a devastating effect on the family, disrupt and overturn the family’s entitlement to the Awujale throne,” he said.
Owoyemi added: “Apart from challenging the activities of this group, we are also individually actioning their conduct, innuendos created and the defamation in the law court. They will surely need to pay for their indiscretions, incorrigibility and misconduct.”
He also called on the Ogun State Government to lift the embargo on the selection of the new Awujale, saying the prolonged delay was fuelling controversy.
Yusuf, who also spoke at the briefing, said the state government lacked the legal authority to halt the process.
“I mean, strictly speaking, the government has no authority whatsoever. Of course! Government is not empowered under any known law to halt any process,” he said.
“Quite unprecedented. And we have decided because we cannot unleash all our strategies in the open. If the government is not doing what it ought to do, we’ll do what we should do.”
But Oduneye, secretary of the fact-finding committee, rejected the council’s allegations, saying the group was acting to protect the integrity of the ruling house.
He said: “We are only working to restore due process, unity and the integrity of the Fusegbuwa/Jadiara Ruling House.”
Oduneye maintained that a general meeting attended by 115 members from all lineages had endorsed the removal of the three leaders and appointed Prince Adeleke Adeyemi as interim secretary and authorised signatory pending the election of a new Olori-Ebi.
He welcomed the threatened court action, saying: “Litigation is a civil way of seeking redress. The court will be the best place to establish who has betrayed the House and who is pursuing personal interest at the expense of the collective.”
The Awujale stool became vacant in July 2025 following the death of Oba Sikiru Adetona, who reigned for 65 years.
The Ogun Government halted the selection process in January 2026 following petitions from security agencies and stakeholders. Before the suspension, 95 aspirants, including 94 princes and one princess, had emerged from the ruling house nomination process.
