“We submitted the name of Prince Adedimeji Idowu to the kingmakers as our candidate. But they went to another family that is not even from Ibese. The Muleros are not from Ibese, they are from Iboro; it is only their mother that relates to us here. The declaration doesn't allow that.”

These are the words of the Olokojobi Ruling House in Ibese, Yewa North Local Government area of Ogun State, while berating the Ogun State Government over the installation of Oluseyi Mulero as the Aboro of Ibese, saying the family did not present him to the government.

The Ruling House also alleged that the installation of Mulero as the Aboro of Ibese was illegal, alleging that the government disregarded valid court orders which forbade the government from taking further steps on the Obaship tussle in Ibeseland.

They also accused the Attorney General of the State, Olusina Ogungbade, of misleading the state government despite alleged three advices from three different Attorneys General of the State to the contrary.

These were contained in a statement read by the youth leader of the family, Prince Idowu Akeem Adedokun during a peaceful protest, weekend, the Ibeseland.

Members of the Ruling House had hit the street in Ibese in protest of the installation of Mulero from the ruling house, alleging that the faily house did not nominate him.

They were armed with placards with different inscriptions like ‘Olokojobi ruling house, Ibese kick against the imposition 0f Oluseyi Rotimi Mulero as Aboro of Ibese’, ‘1957 Chieftaincy declaration is sacrosanct and must be respected’, ‘Ogun State Government ignored rule of Law’, ‘Gov. Prince Dapo Abiodun disregarded valid court order and impose Rotimi Mulero on the family’, ‘Ogun State Attorney Geberal should know better and espect the law’, amongst others.

- The protesting famly members 

Recalling how the process started, the family members explained that after the demise of the former Monarch, Oba Joel Bamigbose Olukoye II, the local government wrote the Olokojobi family, in line with the 1957 declaration.

The family maintained that after fulfilling all traditional and legal parameters presented a candidate to the kingmakers on 14th September, 2017 and that Mulero was not the candidate.

“However, on the 12th of March, 2018, it was read in a newspaper “Alariya Odua’ that Rotimi Mulero who was never presented by the family was elected by the kingmakers. Who or which family had presented Rotimi Mulero to the kingmakers is a question that anybody has not been able to answer till date.

“However, after some bickering between the family and the kingmakers, the then commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs, Hon Jide Ojuko, invited the Olokojobi family and the kingmakers and explained the process of law and the perspective of Ibese Chieftaincy Declaration of Ibese 1957 to the Ruling House and especially the kingmakers so that they could be better guided in their duties as kingmakers.

“The struggle to occupy the vacant stool of the Aboro of Ibese continued on the part of the government on the 4th January, 2018 when the Yewa North Local Government pasted a publication in and around Ibese.

“The publication officially declared the stool of Aboro vacant and the preparation to fill the vacant stool was started by the next ruing house which is the Olokojobi Ruling House. Sequel to the publication, the Olokojobi ruling house received a letter from Yewa North Local Government to start the process of fill the vacant stool.

 “When this aberration was noted, the family lawyer wrote a petition to the executive governor of Ogun State, His Excellency Senator Ibikule Amosun that the state   government should respect the chieftaincy law of the town.

“When the family finally realized the decision of the state Government to install Oluwaseyi Mulero as Aboro of Ibeseland, the Olokojobi family wrote another petition to the governor.

“At this junction, we want to maintain that the installation of Oluwaseyi Mulero as Oba of Ibese is totally unacceptable to the Olokojobi Ruling House as it is illegal in all its intents, it is crystal clear that the state Government has contemptuously disregarded the process of Law and installed illegality in Ibese land.”

Prince Adedotun maintained that the name of Prince Adedimeji Idowu was the name submitted to the kingmakers, adding that Mulero was not even from Ibese, not to talk of qualifying for the position.

“We submitted the name of Prince Adedimeji Idowu to the kingmakers as our candidate. But they went to another family that is not even from Ibese. The Muleros are not from Ibese, they are from Iboro; it is only their mother that relates to us here. The declaration doesn't allow that.

“We are sending a strong signal to the State government. You can hear what happened in Agosasa, in Ado-Odo, Itele and other places over obaship tussle. We don't want that in Ibese.

“What we are saying is that the government should give us our mandate. This is our heritage. What the state government did is a slap on the judiciary. We believe in the judiciary and we know the right thing will be done. The whole world should come to our aid. It is a pity that Governor Dapo Abiodun who is from a royal family is rubbishing every law that establishes obaship in Ogun State,” Idowu told newsmen at Ibese Garri Market.

He called on the people of Ibese to remain calm, even as he expressed optimism that the court would nullify the process that produced Mulero as the Aboro of Ibese.

“My Olokojobi family and the good people of Ibese, I want you to remain calm. This crown belongs to us. We have the custody of the ancestral crown. Please don't fight anybody. We are in court and we are going to win,” he stated.