Awujale throne: Tension rises as ruling house fails to meet deadline

The Fusengbuwa Ruling House has postponed its scheduled nomination meeting for the selection of the next Awujale of Ijebuland, earlier slated for Monday, December 15, 2025, at Bisrod Event Hall, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.

The decision was announced in a statement issued on Friday by the Fusengbuwa Nomination Committee.

Titled “To all Members of Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Ijebu-Ode,” the statement read in part:
“Due to circumstances beyond the family’s control, the Fusengbuwa Ruling House Awujale Nomination Meeting scheduled for Monday, 15th December 2025, has been postponed. The new date will be announced shortly. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.”

The postponement comes just 24 hours after the ruling house formally announced that the nomination process would hold on Monday. The earlier notification, dated December 11 and signed by Ogidan, had fixed the venue at Bisrod Hall, GRA, Ijebu-Ode.

Ahead of the meeting, the ruling house had outlined stringent participation guidelines. Only accredited family members were to be allowed entry, while each candidate vying for the revered stool of the Awujale was permitted two representatives—one to nominate and another to second the nomination.

The family also urged all delegates to conduct themselves peacefully and respectfully, citing the sacred and sensitive nature of the traditional succession process.

The search for a successor intensified last week after the local government authorities issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Fusengbuwa family to present nominees for the throne. The revered monarch, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, who reigned for 65 years and was one of Nigeria’s longest-serving traditional rulers, passed away in July 2025 at the age of 91.

Attempts to contact the Chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Otunba Abdulateef Owoyemi, for further clarification were unsuccessful, as calls to his mobile line were not answered as of press time.

However, a senior member of the ruling house, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that the postponement became necessary to ensure “adequate preparations and a thorough process that leaves no stone unturned.”