Royal family petitions Amosun over monarch’s nomination

Faction Insists Nomination Was In Order
The Melufen Opowo Royal Family (Rogbuwa branch) of Ogijo town in Sagamu Local Government area of Ogun state, has called on the state governor, Ibikunle Amosun, to cancel the nomination process held by the ruling house to produce the next Ologijo of Ogijo.

This call was contained in a petition written by the family on November 14, 2016 and signed by Chief Anata Kalejaiye Ateroko and Alhaji Mutiu Kalejaiye Ateroko respectively.

According to the petition, which was also copied to the state Commissioner of Police, the ruling house alleged that the nomination process held by the Ruling House at a meeting on November 8, 2016, was fraught with massive interference, manipulation, distortion, outright mutilation and substitution of the minutes of the meeting by Sagamu local government officials in favour of an unqualified candidate.

The petition further alleged that the Head of Local Government Administration of the council, Ven. Willie Olugbebi, the Director, General Services and Administration, Mr. F.I Ogundele and a Senior Administrative Officer, Mr. T.O Aruna, took over the conduct of the meeting and skewed the entire process to favour a particular candidate from the female line.

It was also alleged that the council officials who were expected to play roles of an observer, mutilated the the video coverage of the meeting in their custody by deleting the “unfavourable parts” to sooth their nefarious activities.

Similarly, the three council officials, were alleged to have manipulated the minutes of the family meeting and expunge the names of the nominated candidates, to replace it with their favoured candidate.

This, the petition stated, was in total flagrance of the provision of the state Declaration of 2004 under Section 4 (2) of the Chiefs Law regulating the selection of the Ologijo of Ogijo chieftaincy, which stipulated “that persons who may proposed as candidates by a ruling house entitled to fill a vacancy in the chieftaincy shall be: (a) members of the ruling house (b) on the male line, provided that succession may devolve on the female line where there is no qualified candidates of the male line.”

It, however, wondered why the council officials, in obvious connivance with the Family head of Melufen Opowo Royal Family, Dr. Ajayi Bembe, decided to subvert an extant law by devolving the nomination of candidates to a female line when the family, at the meeting, had nominated Princes Lookman Olamide Kalejaiye Ateroko and Moshood Ademola Kalejaiye Ateroko, from the male line.

While calling on the state governor to intervene on the matter to avert looming anarchy and calamity in Ogijo, the petition, equally urged the governor to order an investigation into the allegations with a view to establishing the roles of the individuals involved and bringing them to justice when found culpable.

They urged the governor to order a suspension of the entire nomination process, while an appropriate notice be issued for the conduct of a fairer and properly monitored nomination exercise.”Whilst investigation is initiated to unravel the truth about the roles played by these officials in collaboration with the Melufen Opowo Royal family’s representatives namely the Head of the family and the Secretary to the family with a view to nullifying the nomination process that took place at the Melufon Opowo Palace on November 8, 2016 for being a flagrant and brazen subversion of the will and desire of the members of the family, robustly and freely expressed and contained in the authentic minutes of November 8.

“While issuing out an appropriate notice for the conduct of a fairer and properly monitored nomination exercise to be held, we urge you sirs to use your good offices to order a suspension of the entire process in the interim in order not foist a fait accompli on us,” the petition submitted.

When contacted on phone, the Spokesman of the faction that the petition was written against, Olootu, Joseph Oluwuyiwa Ajayi Benbe told The Guardian, “The matter is being taking to court so I do not want to comment much on it.