By Willy Okonji:
IJEBU-ODE – As the Fusengbuwa Ruling House prepares for its pivotal meeting on January 12, 2026, Otunba Otukayode Otufale has issued a stern reminder that the selection of the next Awujale of Ijebuland must be governed strictly by statutory laws to avoid “anarchy and litigation.”
In a detailed statement released on January 8, Otunba Otufale emphasized that the 1957 Declaration, approved under the Chiefs Law of the defunct Western Region, remains the only legally binding framework for the succession process, superseded by no other tradition or social media commentary.
He clarified that the Ogun State Chiefs Law of 2021 reaffirms this, stating that “every Declaration made or registered under the repealed enactments will have effect as it has been made or registered under the provisions of this Law,” thereby making the decades-old guidelines “sacrosanct and effective up to date.”
Addressing the eligibility of potential successors, Otunba Otufale noted that the Kingmakers are legally bound to prioritize the “male line,” which the Supreme Court defines as “a line commencing with a male and continued through males.” He warned that the Kingmakers are not permitted to “lump male and female candidates together,” asserting that succession primarily devolves on the male line and only shifts to the female line if no male successor is available.
According to the Otunba, any candidate from the female line must prove their mother was an “Abidagba”, a child born while the Oba was on the throne, or be a child born to Oba Folagbade Adenuga before his 1925 ascension. “This provision of the Declaration is sacrosanct and must be followed to the letter,” he stated, adding that “the provision admits of no additions or subtractions.”
Otunba Otufale further cautioned the ruling house against internal divisions, stressing that the power to nominate resides with the Fusengbuwa Ruling House as a single corporate entity rather than its individual branches. He insisted that no family head or individual member has the authority to “unilaterally screen candidates or collate names,” as the nomination must occur during a formal family meeting where the head’s only role is to conduct the proceedings and hand the final list to the Odis.
“It is not the turn of any branch of the Ruling Houses to produce candidates, as there is no provision for such in the Declaration,” he clarified, noting that any eligible member from any branch becomes a candidate of the entire house once nominated.
Concluding his intervention, the Otunba dismissed various historical and traditional accounts currently circulating on social media, arguing that they hold no weight in the face of established law.
He cited Section 10 of the Chiefs Law, which deems the registered Declaration as the “customary law regulating the selection to the exclusion of any other customary usage or rule.” He maintained that all historical claims not captured in the 1957 document “no longer represent the custom of our people” and urged the family to remain within the confines of the law during their deliberations.
“I owe it a duty to highlight these issues so that all the Ruling House embarks on at the meeting should be seen to be within the confines of the Law,” he concluded.
