#Crisis brews in Ikere #Ekiti over kingship selection

Tension is now brewing in Ikere Ekiti, the second most populous town in Ekiti, following alleged imposition of one Jimi Adu as the Ogoga-elect.

A Regent had been appointed after the demise of Ogoga, Oba Adegoke Adegboye, on August 22, 2014.

Adegboye, from Akayejo dynasty, one of the three ruling houses in the town, died after a brief illness at age 85.

At a press conference in Ikere Ekiti on Monday, the three ruling houses: Akaiyejo, Agabaola and Ogbenuote, accused Ikere Development Forum of imposing Adu, who according to them, is not from any of the royal families.

A statement read by the spokesman of the royal houses, Prince Ojo Ologundoye, said the most important criterion a prince must fulfill before he could be crowned is to be a biological member of any of the royal families.

                                           

They jointly called on Governor Ayodele Fayose to annul the selection process allegedly conducted by a faction of the 21-member kingmakers.

They also urged him to order a fresh process that would be in tandem with the Law to avert imminent crisis in the town.

“To say the least, Mr. Samuel Jimi Adu is not a member of any of the ruling houses, but surprisingly, he is claiming to be a member of Ogbenuote ruling house, whereas he has no link with that royal family and neither is he a prince at all, which means this selection has no place in history and in law.

“As a matter of fact, no selection process was conducted by the Ogbenuote  ruling house, some few people just handpicked and foisted on the family by some powerful indigenes and this had sparked up widespread resentment, thereby culminating in some protest letters to the Governor, the State Attorney General, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, among others.

“Rather than for the kingmakers to consult the oracle in line with customs and tradition, they came up with a list of 14 kingmakers out of 21 traditional kingmakers . Even two of the kingmakers refused to sign, sensing danger in the high level of partisanship and illegality embarked upon by the kingmakers,” the statement said.