Femi Ashekun/
The succession struggle for the Alaafin of Oyo stool has assumed a new dimension after one of the contestants dragged the Oyo traditional council, known as the Oyomesi, to court over the selection process.
The Oyomesi are traditionally and constitutionally saddled with the task of selecting a new Alaafin.
The Alaafin throne became vacant following the death of Alaafin Lamidi Adeyemi III on April 22, while receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment at the Afe Babalola University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti.
The kingmakers (the Oyomesi) began the process of selecting a successor, after a list of 85 interested and qualified contestants from the Agunloye Ruling House was submitted to them by the Baba Iyaji (head of princes) for consideration.
Under the subsisting legislation, which is the 1961 Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy Declaration, two ruling houses, Agunloye and Alowolodu, are allowed to nominate candidates for the Alaafin Stool on rotational basis. Alaafin Adeyemi III was from the Alowolodu Ruling House.
However, one of the contestants from the Ladigbolu branch of the Agunloye Ruling House has reportedly filed a suit in an Oyo State High Court in Awe, Oyo town, to challenge some of procedures adopted by the Oyomesi in the ongoing exercise.
The Ladigbolu branch has produced the last two Alaafins from Agunloye Ruling House, namely, Alaafin Siyanbola Ladigbolu I and Alaafin Gbadegesin Ladigbolu II.
The contestant, identified as Akeem Abiodun Ladigbolu, a great grandson of Alaafin Siyanbola Ladigbolu I, is reportedly accusing the Oyomesi of going beyond the limits of their authority with regards to some of the steps they have so far taken in the selection process.
According to a source, who confided in NewsmakersNG, key among the issues raised by the contestant is the procedure adopted by the Oyomesi in selecting Warrant Chiefs designated as placeholders for their two deceased members.
The source stated, “As you’re aware, the Oyomesi are seven in number. But two of them, Ashipa and Alapinni, have died. And it is no longer news that two warrant chiefs, Areago Bashorun and Baale of Oke-Apo, have been appointed to temporarily hold their places for the purpose of appointing a new Alaafin.
“The suit filed by the contestant is, among others things, challenging the powers of the Oyomesi to appoint those two warrant chiefs. It is also asking the court to determine if the procedure adopted in appointing the warrants complied with the established tradition.
“Further, the suit is asking the court to determine if the remaining five original members of the Oyomesi are sufficient to appoint a new Alaafin without the inclusion of the two warrants. It also challenged the legality and fairness of the selection of the Areago Bashorun, a chief under the direct control of the Bashorun of Oyo, who is a member of the Oyomesi, as one of the warrants to vote in the selection of a new Alaafin.”
According to the source, other issues raised in the suit include the reported submission of the name of a contestant to the state government for approval as Alaafin-elect from a long list of 65 contestants interviewed by the Oyomesi between September 5 and 12, without recourse to the other contestants on the process adopted in picking the said contestants.
NewsmakersNG learnt that members of the Oyomesi have been notified of the suit but no date has been fixed for hearing to commence.
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