Popular Fuji musician, Wasiu Ayinde, aka KWAM1, has again asked Governor Dapo Abiodun to cancel the second selection process for the next Awujale of Ijebu.
Ayinde, in a letter written to Abiodun by his lawyer, Wahab Shittu, and dated January 14, said the cancellation would prevent the process from becoming a fertile ground for protracted litigation.
He asked the governor to declare the January 12, 2026, Fusengbuwa ruling house nomination meeting for the new Awujale as null and void, arguing that it failed to abide by the state Obas and Chiefs Law, 2021.
Ayinde had earlier approached the state High Court, sitting at Ijebu Ode, seeking an interim injunction stopping the governor and six others from going ahead with the selection process.
But the court refused to grant the injunction on the grounds that his application lacked merit.
The Fuji musician, through his lawyer, later withdrew the suit, though no tangible reason was offered.
Reacting to the nomination meeting, Ayinde faulted what he called the “imposition of a ‘delegate’ system” and the exclusion of some members of the ruling house from being part of the nomination meeting.
He stated that the alleged exclusion constituted an arbitrary and ultra vires exercise of authority, undermining the statutory duties of the ruling house to conduct an open and transparent nomination.
The musician stated that following the demise of the late Awujale, Oba Sikiru Adetona, it became the turn of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House to present candidates for the Awujale stool.
He disclosed that the Secretary of Ijebu Ode Local Government, by a letter referenced 10LJ584/11/34 and dated January 6, 2026, told members of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House to convene a statutory meeting for the nomination of candidates.
Ayinde said the directive was issued in line with the customary laws of Ijebuland and the Chieftaincy Regulations of Ogun State.
He added, “However, on January 12, 2026, at Bisrod Hotel, Ijebu Ode, at the designated venue for the nomination exercise, our client and numerous other eligible members of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House were deliberately excluded and prevented from entering.
“Heavily armed security personnel, including the Nigerian Police and other security operatives, were reportedly stationed at the venue and were used to disenfranchise legitimate members. Entry to the meeting was restricted by the issuance of special entry cards, purportedly to ‘delegates’ selected by a faction within the ruling house.
“This system of ‘delegates’ was unilaterally introduced and was never agreed upon by our client or other disenfranchised members, who maintain their right to attend and participate directly in the statutory meeting of the ruling house.
“This deliberate obstruction prevented our client and others from exercising their fundamental right to participate in the nomination process for the Awujale stool.”
Ayinde, who is also the Olori Omooba of Ijebu land, asserted that the nomination exercise purportedly conducted on January 12, 2026, “without the full and free participation of all eligible members of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, including himself, was procedurally defective, unlawful, and consequently null and void.”
He added that, “In the overriding interest of justice, peace, and the preservation of the sanctity of traditional institutions, the musician urged Gov. Abiodun to declare the purported nomination exercise conducted by the Fusengbuwa Ruling House on January 12, 2026, as null, void, and of no effect whatsoever.”
Ayinde urged the governor to order a fresh nomination process which will “be transparent, inclusive, and fair.”
The Vice Chairman of the Fusengbuwa ruling house, Prof. Fassy Yusuf, when contacted, confirmed the receipt of the letter but described it as “arrant nonsense and misguided.”
He said the letter was of no consequence to the ongoing selection process.
However, efforts made to get the reaction of the government on the latest letter proved abortive as the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ganiyu Hamzat, did not answer calls and has yet to reply to messages sent to his phone.
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