Popular Fuji musician Wasiu Ayinde, also known as KWAM1, has called on Governor Dapo Abiodun to annul the second selection process for the next Awujale of Ijebu.
In a letter dated January 14, 2026, addressed to the governor and written by his lawyer, Wahab Shittu, Ayinde argued that canceling the process would prevent it from becoming “a fertile ground for protracted litigation.”
He requested that the January 12, 2026, nomination meeting of the Fusengbuwa ruling house be declared null and void, citing non-compliance with the Ogun State Obas and Chiefs Law, 2021.
Ayinde had previously approached the state High Court in Ijebu Ode seeking an interim injunction to stop the governor and six others from proceeding with the selection. The court, however, dismissed his application for lack of merit. His lawyer later withdrew the case without providing a specific reason.
Criticizing the nomination meeting, Ayinde condemned what he described as the “imposition of a ‘delegate’ system” and the exclusion of certain ruling house members from participating. He said, “This 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.”
Following the passing of the late Awujale, Oba Sikiru Adetona, Ayinde said it was the turn of the Fusengbuwa ruling house to present candidates. He explained that the Secretary of Ijebu Ode Local Government, through a letter referenced 10LJ584/11/34 dated January 6, 2026, instructed the Fusengbuwa ruling house to hold a statutory nomination meeting, in accordance with customary laws and the Chieftaincy Regulations of Ogun State.
However, Ayinde alleged that “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.
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“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.”
As the Olori Omooba of Ijebu land, Ayinde maintained that the nomination exercise “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 urged the governor to annul the January 12 exercise and order a fresh nomination process that would “be transparent, inclusive, and fair,” in the interest of justice, peace, and the integrity of traditional institutions.
Responding to the letter, the Vice Chairman of the Fusengbuwa ruling house, Prof. Fassy Yusuf, dismissed it as “arrant nonsense and misguided,” describing it as inconsequential to the ongoing selection.