Awujale succession: Fusengbuwa ruling house dismisses KWAM1’s petition to Ogun gov

The Fusengbuwa Ruling House of Ijebu land has rejected a petition by Fuji musician Alhaji Wasiu Ayinde, popularly known as KWAM1, in which he accused the family of deliberately sidelining him from the process to select the next Awujale of Ijebu land.

Ayinde, through a letter dated January 8, 2026, and written by his lawyer, Dr Wahab Shittu (SAN), had written to Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, alleging that the ruling house—next in line to produce the Awujale—introduced procedures not recognised by the Chieftaincy Declaration or the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State.

He claimed the measures were designed to prevent him from contesting the stool.

Reacting on Sunday, the Vice Chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Prof Fassy Yusuf, dismissed the claims, describing the petition as baseless.

Speaking by telephone, Yusuf said the allegations had no foundation, insisting that the family’s actions were guided by practicality and tradition.

“It is a misguided letter. Either the lawyer or Wasiu Ayinde is being misinformed. What is being said makes no sense,” Yusuf said.

“We have more than 20,000 members in the ruling house. How does anyone expect such a large gathering to be managed without structure?”

He confirmed that the family had scheduled Monday for the nomination of candidates seeking the vacant Awujale stool.

The succession process, which has reportedly attracted over 60 aspirants, has generated significant public interest, particularly following Ayinde’s declaration of interest.

However, the Fusengbuwa Ruling House has maintained that the musician is not a member of the family and is therefore ineligible to participate.

Earlier, Ayinde had approached the Ogun State High Court in Ijebu-Ode, seeking an interim injunction to halt the selection process.

The court dismissed the application, describing it as lacking merit. The suit was later withdrawn by his legal team without explanation.

Following intervention by the Ogun State Government, the ruling house suspended the initial nomination exercise and restarted the process.

In a subsequent letter to the governor, Ayinde said the Ijebu-Ode Local Government had, through a letter dated January 6, 2026, authorised the ruling house to commence the selection process.

He expressed surprise that the family’s Public Relations Officer, Prince Adeleye Lateef Ademuyiwa, later issued a notice directing aspirants to obtain nomination forms and appear before a screening committee.

According to the letter, the directive fixed the nomination exercise for January 12, 2026, while stipulating that candidates would be nominated by delegates selected at a prior meeting.

Ayinde’s lawyer argued that the introduction of screening and delegate-based nominations was inconsistent with existing chieftaincy laws and amounted to an attempt to disenfranchise members of the ruling house.

“All members of the ruling house are entitled to participate freely in nominating candidates of their choice,” the letter stated, warning that any attempt to exclude Ayinde from the process would be challenged.

The Awujale stool became vacant in July 2025 following the death of Oba Sikiru Adetona, who passed away at the age of 91 after reigning for 65 years.

As of the time of filing this report, the Ogun State Government had not commented on the matter.

Efforts to reach the governor’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Kayode Akinmade, were unsuccessful.