Ooni succession battle gets hotter as Lafogido, Giesi ruling houses disagree

As the contest for the stool of the Ooni of Ife gets hotter, one of the contenders for the vacant stool, Prince Adetayo Oladele, has said it is the turn of his ruling house, Lafogido to produce the next monarch of the ancient city.


He said since Giesi ruling house had conceded its turn to Ogboru ruling house in 1980, it is now the turn of Lafodigo ruling house to ascend the throne.

His position, however, contradicts that of Giesi ruling house, which said since it had been denied throne twice, there is no other ruling house that is qualified to assume the throne.

At least 45 contestants are struggling to assume the throne after the death Oba Okunade Sijuwade on July 28, 2015.

Prof. Adeoye Aderibigbe from Giesi ruling house had earlier said in an interview with newsmen that taking cognizance of the fact that his ruling house, Giesi was denied when Oba Sijuwade ascended the throne and that it was elders in the town that prevailed on him to hands off a suit against the enthronement of late Sijuwade, it is ripe for his ruling house to produce the next monarch.

But, Prince Oladele, a US based real estate expert who hails from Adagba royal compound in the Lafogido Ruling House, in a statement yesterday argued that since the turn of Giesi had been conceded to Ogboru ruling house, Lafodigo is the next ruling house to produce the king if the 1957 declaration which arranged the ruling houses is strictly adhered to.

”The new Ooni must be a man of vision with deep interest of the town in heart and who is ready to sacrifice personal gains for Ile-Ife’s overall well-being.

”All the past Oonis did their best to keep Ife on top. The new Ooni must be a man of honour, integrity and strong-will who is determined to see Ife rise to a new level of prominence in development with positive impacts on local residents and the Yoruba at large. This is my vision.” he said.