BREAKING: Oyo Kingmakers Protest As Makinde Names Owoade New Alaafin

Kingmakers in Oyo town, Oyo state, have protested the appointment of Prince Abimbola Owoade as the new Alaafin of Oyo by Governor Seyi Makinde.

Legit.ng reported that Owoade was officially approved as the new Alaafin of Oyo by Governor Makinde.

The announcement was made on Friday, January 10, by Dotun Oyelade, the Oyo state commissioner for information and orientation.

Five kingmakers who rejected Owoade’s appointment

However, five prominent kingmakers in Oyo town have rejected Owoade’s appointment.

The protesting kingmakers include:

The Basorun of Oyo, High Chief Yusuf Akinade;
The Lagunna of Oyo, High Chief Wakeel Akindele;
The Akinniku of Oyo, High Chief Hamzat Yusuf;
A warrant chief representing the Asipa of Oyo, Chief Wahab Oyetunji; and
A warrant chief representing the Alapinni of Oyo, Chief Gbadebo Mufutau.

As reported by The Punch, the kingmakers argued that Prince Lukman Gbadegesin was the rightful Alaafin-elect.

The cited ongoing legal proceedings concerning the selection process and made their grievances known through a letter signed by their legal counsel, Kunle Sobaloju, SAN.

The kingmakers described the governor’s actions as illegal and urged the suspension of the process until the matter was resolved in court.

The letter made available to The Punch on Saturday, January 11, outlined the kingmakers’ opposition to the appointment.

It read in part:

“On their resolute instruction, we write this letter concerning the purported unlawful and illegal appointment of Prince Abimbola Akeem Owoade as the new Alaafin of Oyo.

“Your Excellency’s recent announcement of Prince Owoade’s appointment, claiming it was made after consultations and divinations, is contrary to the established legal process. The Alaafin is not chosen by consultation or divination but through strict compliance with the Registered Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy Declaration of 1967, which governs the selection process. The Bashorun of Oyo, as the head of the Oyomesi, must summon a meeting for the selection, but no such meeting was convened. This decision amounts to executive recklessness and cannot withstand legal scrutiny.”

Alaafin stool: Makinde dragged to court

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that some kingmakers dragged Governor Makinde to court over the government’s alleged refusal to approve the selection of Prince Gbadegesin as the new Alaafin of Oyo.

The aggrieved kingmakers also sued the attorney general/commissioner for justice, Biodun Aikomo, and the ministry of local government and chieftaincy affairs in court.