SONNY KUKU COORDINATES IJEBULAND STAKEHOLDERS AS STATE CREATION COMMITTEE ADVANCES IJEBU-REMO PROPOSAL
Ijebu Obas, Committee Members and Leaders Align on Next Steps
By Femi Mebude
IJEBU-ODE, OGUN STATE — Monday, September 28, 2026: The proposed creation of Ijebu-Remo State received renewed attention on Monday as the Implementation Committee on the Creation of a New State out of the Old Ijebu Province met with traditional rulers and other stakeholders at the Palace of the Awujale in Ijebu-Ode.
The meeting, hosted by the Ogbeni-Oja of Ijebuland, Olorogun Dr. Sonny Kuku, brought together members of the implementation committee and prominent traditional and community leaders to review the proposal and strengthen coordination around the process.
At the centre of the gathering was the need to establish a coordinated framework through which the aspirations of communities within the old Ijebu Province can be presented and pursued.
WHAT THE IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE IS EXPECTED TO DO
The Implementation Committee on the Creation of a New State out of the Old Ijebu Province serves as a coordinating and stakeholder-engagement body for the state creation proposal.
Its role includes facilitating consultations, collating stakeholder positions, promoting communication among participating communities and institutions, and helping to coordinate activities connected with the proposal.
The committee does not itself possess the constitutional authority to create a state. Any eventual creation of a new state would have to pass through the constitutional and legislative procedures prescribed by Nigerian law.
The committee's work is therefore principally about coordination, consultation, mobilisation of relevant stakeholders and preparation for the appropriate stages of the process.
SUNNY KUKU'S COORDINATING ROLE
The meeting also brought into focus the coordinating role being played by Olorogun Dr. Sunny Kuku in bringing together the various interests involved in the initiative.
As Ogbeni-Oja of Ijebuland and Chairman of the Awujale Interregnum Traditional Administrative Council, Kuku has been engaging with traditional rulers and other stakeholders at a period when coordination among Ijebuland institutions remains particularly important.
His approach at the meeting centred on bringing the Implementation Committee and the Obas of Ijebuland into closer alignment, providing a platform for consultation and ensuring that the traditional institution remains connected to the broader discussions surrounding the proposal.
Rather than treating the initiative as the responsibility of a single individual or institution, the engagement reflected an effort to build a collective process involving the traditional institution, political representatives, community leaders and the committee.
The participating stakeholders subsequently reaffirmed their resolve to work together towards the mandate of pursuing the proposed Ijebu-Remo State, subject to the constitutional and legislative requirements governing state creation.
ROYAL FATHERS AT THE MEETING
The meeting was led by the Orimolusi of Ijebu-Igbo, His Royal Majesty, Oba Lawrence Adebajo.
Among the royal fathers present were the Ajalorun of Ijebu-Ife, His Royal Majesty, Oba Adesesan Afolorunso Oguntayo, FCA, JP; the Onirete of Irete-Ijebu, His Royal Majesty, Oba Abdul-Ganiyu Olusegun Awokoya-Yesufu, Kutimehin Adetutu I; and the Dagburewe of Idowa, His Royal Majesty, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adefuwape Okuribido Okulote II, Anowoneyo IV, alongside other traditional rulers.
Also present were former Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Senator Adegbenga Kaka, and the Bobasuwa of Ijebuland, Chief Funlola Okunowo, among other stakeholders.
GBENGA DANIEL AND THE LEGISLATIVE DIMENSION
The involvement of Otunba (Senator) Gbenga Daniel, representing Ogun East Senatorial District, provides a legislative dimension to the initiative.
Daniel has been associated with efforts to advance the proposal at the national level, while the stakeholder consultations involving the traditional institution provide a channel for gathering and coordinating views from communities across the proposed area.
The meeting at the Palace of the Awujale therefore brought together the legislative, traditional and community dimensions of the process.
For Daniel, the engagement with the traditional institution and the implementation committee provides an avenue for maintaining dialogue between the national legislative process and stakeholders within Ijebuland.
Any eventual consideration of a new state, however, remains subject to the constitutional requirements and legislative procedures applicable to state creation in Nigeria.
A COLLECTIVE MANDATE
The significance of Monday's meeting extended beyond the gathering of personalities. It reflected an attempt to place the proposal within a structured process involving the committee, traditional rulers and other stakeholders.
The participating royal fathers and stakeholders expressed support for the proposal and resolved to sustain collaboration towards its pursuit.
With Ijebu-Ode proposed as the capital, the initiative seeks to bring the aspirations of communities associated with the old Ijebu Province into the formal national conversation on state creation.
For the stakeholders involved, the immediate task is to maintain unity of purpose, strengthen consultation and coordinate the various responsibilities required as the proposal proceeds through the appropriate constitutional and legislative channels.
The meeting hosted by Ogbeni-Oja Olorogun Dr. Sunny Kuku thus marked another stage in the continuing engagement, with the traditional institution, implementation committee and other stakeholders aligning around a shared objective: to pursue the mandate for the creation of Ijebu-Remo State through the established legal and constitutional process.
REPORT BY FEMI MEBUDE
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