FUSENGBUWA POWER STRUGGLE: GRAND COUNCIL REAFFIRMS OWOYEMI, AJIDAGBA, FASSY YUSUF
Grand Council resists purported leadership shake-up as family leaders clarify disputed developments and demand resumption of Awujale selection process
Report by Femi Mebude For Ijebu Today/ Igboro Lawa 07066675577/08053044503
IJEBU-ODE — The leadership dispute within the Fusengbuwa Ruling House of Ijebu-Ode has entered another significant phase, with the Otunba Abdulateef A. Owoyemi-led Grand Council rejecting the purported removal of its principal officers and reaffirming its authority as the recognised leadership structure of the ruling house.
The position was made public on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, at a press conference in Ijebu-Ode addressed by the Chairman/Olori-Ebi of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Otunba Abdulateef A. Owoyemi, FCA, alongside other principal members and family leaders.
The press conference was convened against the backdrop of the disputed August 9 gathering, at which Owoyemi, the Deputy Chairman, Otunba Oladokun Ajidagba, and the Vice-Chairman, Professor Fassy Adetokunboh Yusuf, were purportedly removed from their positions.
In his prepared address, Owoyemi described the August 9 gathering as an “illegal and kangaroo meeting”, insisting that the persons behind it lacked the authority to remove the existing leadership or constitute a parallel structure of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
The development has further exposed the depth of the internal disagreement within the ruling house, particularly over who possesses legitimate authority to convene meetings, constitute committees and speak on behalf of the Fusengbuwa family.
GRAND COUNCIL REJECTS PURPORTED LEADERSHIP SHAKE-UP
At the centre of the latest controversy is the purported leadership change announced following the August 9 meeting.
The Owoyemi-led Grand Council has rejected that action, maintaining that the existing leadership remains intact and that those responsible for the disputed meeting were not empowered to remove the recognised officers of the Ruling House.
Owoyemi explained that the current leadership emerged after the Ogun State Government intervened in previous divisions within the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
According to him, the family had previously operated through three factions. Government intervention subsequently facilitated a unification process which led to the emergence of Owoyemi as Chairman/Olori-Ebi, Ajidagba as Deputy Chairman/Igbakeji Olori-Ebi and Professor Fassy Adetokunboh Yusuf as Vice-Chairman/Eta Olori-Ebi.
Other officers identified were Pastor Prince Jeremiah Bola Salami as Secretary, Alhaji Adebisi Quadri as Treasurer and Omoba Abiodun Ogidan as Public Relations Officer.
HOW THE GRAND COUNCIL EMERGED
Owoyemi also gave an account of the process through which the present Grand Council was constituted.
He said four delegates from each of the three former factions participated in the delegation to the Ogun State Government, producing 12 representatives.
Those delegates, he explained, were later constituted into a Management Committee, while three additional members were subsequently co-opted, bringing the present Grand Council to 15 members.
On that basis, the chairman argued that those behind the purported August 9 meeting were not members of the Grand Council and therefore had no authority to convene a meeting or establish a committee on behalf of the ruling house.
The disagreement, therefore, is not simply about personalities occupying particular positions but also about the structure, authority and legitimacy of the body empowered to administer the affairs of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
DISPUTE AND THE AWUJALE SUCCESSION QUESTION
The disagreement assumes greater significance because of its connection to the wider affairs of the vacant Awujale stool.
The Owoyemi-led Grand Council alleges that the activities of the opposing group could have consequences for the Fusengbuwa Ruling House's entitlement and participation in the succession process.
The chairman stated that the council had investigated the activities of those challenging its leadership and was convinced that their actions, if not challenged, could have a “devastating effect” on the family and potentially “disrupt and overturn” its entitlement to the Awujale throne.
That assertion remains the position of the Owoyemi-led Grand Council as presented at the press conference. The prepared statement does not contain the response of those accused, making it important that their position also be heard and independently established as the controversy develops.
GRAND COUNCIL REAFFIRMS ITS THREE PRINCIPAL OFFICERS
Rather than accepting the purported leadership shake-up, the Grand Council used the occasion to reaffirm confidence in Owoyemi, Ajidagba and Professor Fassy Adetokunboh Yusuf.
According to the statement, the council passed what it described as a “resounding vote of confidence” in the three principal officers.
The council also declared the individuals it described as “impostors” and their accomplices, including members of the purported fact-finding committee, enemies of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
It further called on the government and members of the public to discountenance resolutions or allegations emanating from those individuals.
THE OLORIEBI EXCOS CHALLENGES GOVERNMENT'S SUSPENSION OF AWUJALE SELECTION
In a related and significant development at the same press conference, the Vice-Chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Professor Fassy Adetokunboh Yusuf, who is also the Baagbimo of Ijebu and a lawyer, criticised the prolonged suspension of the Awujale selection process.
Professor Yusuf argued that the Ogun State Government lacks the legal authority to suspend the Awujale selection process. He stated that the government's continued suspension of the process had no sufficient legal basis, although he ruled out filing a lawsuit to challenge the government's action.
Recall that the Ogun State Government had, on December 11, 2025, suspended the Awujale selection process, citing “procedural errors” and possible violations of the law. The state government later lifted the suspension on January 6, 2026, only to suspend the process again on January 20, 2026, citing the need to “maintain public order, protect the integrity of the process, and maintain the veneration of the stool”, after receiving petitions challenging the process.
On both occasions, the Ogun State Government justified the suspension and insisted that it had legal authority for the actions under the Obas and Chiefs’ Law of Ogun State, 2021.
Professor Yusuf, however, maintained that the state government had no legal authority to suspend the Awujale selection process. He disclosed that the Fusengbuwa Ruling House had, on May 3, 2026, sent an open letter to the Ogun State Government demanding an end to the embargo on the selection process.
The position places the Fusengbuwa leadership's demand for the restoration of the selection process at the centre of the wider dispute surrounding the vacant traditional stool.
OWOYEMI DEMANDS PROMPT RESUMPTION OF SELECTION PROCESS
Also speaking on the matter, the Chairman and Olori-Ebi of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Otunba Lateef Owoyemi, called for the prompt resumption of the Awujale selection process.
Owoyemi, a former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), said the process was long overdue and that the entire Ijebu land was worried about the lingering limbo surrounding the vacant Awujale stool. He nevertheless expressed optimism that the process would resume within the next few weeks.
Both Owoyemi and Professor Yusuf stressed that the Fusengbuwa Ruling House had completed its duties in the Awujale selection process by submitting the names of eligible aspirants to the Kingmakers.
They explained that the 13 Kingmakers are expected to scrutinise the aspirants and, by a majority decision, recommend a single candidate to the Ogun State Government for approval.
The explanation provided another important dimension to the press conference, linking the internal leadership controversy directly to the broader question of the next Awujale and the constitutional and traditional procedures surrounding the selection.
QUESTIONS, ANSWERS AND FAMILY CLARIFICATIONS
Following the formal presentation, the press conference proceeded into an extensive question-and-answer session, during which journalists sought clarification on several issues arising from the leadership controversy and the wider affairs of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
The interactive session provided an opportunity for the various Oloriebi, other ruling-house family leaders and subsequent members present at the gathering to respond to questions and explain their perspectives on matters raised during the proceedings.
Issues discussed during the session included questions surrounding the composition and authority of the Grand Council, the circumstances surrounding the disputed August 9 meeting, the relationship between the various family leadership structures and issues connected with the ruling house's position in the process leading to the emergence of a new Awujale.
The question-and-answer segment consequently added another dimension to the press conference, moving the discussion beyond the prepared statement and allowing members of the family leadership to provide direct explanations to journalists.
For the media, the session was particularly important because it offered an opportunity to interrogate claims and obtain clarification directly from members of the ruling house rather than relying exclusively on reports, statements or narratives circulating outside the meeting.
It also demonstrated the complexity of the dispute, which is not simply about individual positions but involves questions of family representation, internal authority, historical arrangements and the wider traditional succession process.
LEGAL BATTLE MAY FURTHER DEFINE THE DISPUTE
The controversy could also move increasingly into the legal arena. Owoyemi disclosed that the conduct, alleged innuendos and what he described as defamation arising from the dispute were being pursued individually in court.
He warned that those involved would have to answer for what he characterised as their indiscretions, incorrigibility and misconduct.
Should the legal actions proceed, the courts could become another arena in which some of the competing claims surrounding the dispute are tested.
Professor Yusuf, however, specifically indicated that despite his disagreement with the government's suspension of the Awujale selection process, he would not be filing a lawsuit to challenge that particular government action.
APPEAL TO THE MEDIA
The leadership also used the occasion to caution journalists and social-media publishers over their handling of the controversy. Owoyemi warned against defamation and cyber-stalking, expressing concern that some reports had been published without what he considered adequate defence and justification.
He appealed to media practitioners to verify information before publication and, where information could not be verified, to leave it out.
That appeal is significant in a dispute of this nature, where competing claims can quickly circulate through conventional and social media and potentially deepen existing divisions.
WHAT THE LATEST DEVELOPMENT MEANS
The latest development leaves a fundamental question at the heart of the Fusengbuwa controversy:
Who has the legitimate authority to speak and act for the Fusengbuwa Ruling House?
The Owoyemi-led Grand Council has answered that question unequivocally from its own position: it regards its existing leadership as intact and rejects the purported August 9 leadership change.
However, the wider controversy remains contested. The allegations made at the press conference represent the position of the Grand Council, while the opposing side's full response and any authoritative determination of the competing claims remain necessary for a complete picture.
This is particularly important because the dispute is unfolding against the backdrop of the vacant Awujale stool and the wider expectations surrounding the succession process.
The Fusengbuwa Ruling House's internal cohesion, representation and ability to speak with one voice could therefore have implications extending beyond the immediate personalities involved.
BEYOND PERSONALITIES: A TEST OF RULING-HOUSE UNITY
Ultimately, the Fusengbuwa dispute raises a broader question about the management of traditional institutions and family-based succession structures. For a ruling house with a historic stake in the Awujale institution, internal disagreements can become consequential when questions of representation and legitimacy intersect with an ongoing succession process.
The challenge before the family and other stakeholders is therefore not merely determining who occupies the positions of Chairman, Deputy Chairman or Vice-Chairman.
It is also about preserving the credibility, unity and institutional authority of the ruling house while ensuring that disagreements are resolved through recognised and transparent processes.
The August 12 Press Conference, including the subsequent questions-and-answers session, has made one thing clear: the Fusengbuwa leadership dispute is far from settled.
The Owoyemi-led Grand Council has rejected the purported leadership shake-up, reaffirmed its three principal officers, challenged the authority of the rival group and indicated its readiness to pursue legal remedies.
At the same time, the Grand Council has called for the prompt resumption of the Awujale selection process, while Professor Fassy Yusuf has challenged the legal basis of the Ogun State Government's continued suspension of the process.
What remains to be seen is how the opposing side responds, whether the contending positions can be reconciled through family and governmental processes, and ultimately how the dispute will affect the Fusengbuwa Ruling House's place in the unfolding conversation over the future of the Awujale institution.
For now, the message from the August 12 gathering is unequivocal from the Owoyemi-led Grand Council's perspective: its leadership remains intact, its three principal officers retain its confidence, and it expects the traditional succession process that could determine the next Awujale of Ijebuland to resume without further delay.
