Residents of Ode Omi community in Ogun State have written to the Governor, Dapo Abiodun, kicking against the selection process that had threw up a new traditional ruler for the town and requested for an independent process into the process.
The residents, meanwhile, alleged that the process that threw up one F. Hassan was not transparent and that it was manipulated by chairman, Ogun Waterside Local Government, Femi Onanuga, and council Secretary, Sulaiman Yekini, to favour Hassan.
According to the residents, Onanuga and Yekini allegedly carried out the traditional ruler selection processes for the town without duly involving the kingmakers before both election processes were completed.
Through a statement signed by prominent chiefs of Ode Omi, they appealed that the state governor launches an independent inquiry into the matter to unravel the mystery that trailed the selection processes.
In the letter that was also signed by Oshodi of Ode Omi, Wole Opele, the residents wondered why the council rushed to carry out the exercise when the selection process was earlier declared inconclusive by the Secretary to the Local Government.
According to them, the process was declared inconclusive in Ode Omi in the presence of the Divisional Crime Officer for Abigi, representative of Director of Security Services (DSS), and other Security operatives as candidates and the Families involved requested more time to resolve some issues.
They added that while resolving issues elongating the interregnum, they were surprised that Yekini later went secretly behind to carry out the selection with three out of the six kingmakers at the Local Government Headquarters in Abigi without the knowledge of the community which the traditional ruler was meant for.
In the letter, they noted that the stool of Lenuwa of Ode Omi “is as old as Awujale of Ijebuland and must not be allowed to be rubbished and ridiculed by a process that does not pass the test of global best practices”.
They, however, appealed to the Governor to wade into the matter in order not to disrupt the Peace and harmony at Ode Omi in particular and Ogun State in general.
It would be recalled that the stool became vacant following the demise of the town’s former traditional ruler, Oba Adenuga Okunniyi, in June 2019.
