Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has instructed the State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Dosu Babatunde, to address the ongoing disputes surrounding the Apetumodu throne following the conviction of Oba Joseph Oloyede by a US court.
The commissioner’s directive comes as tensions escalate between supporters of maintaining the throne’s vacancy until Oba Oloyede’s return and those advocating for the installation of a new monarch.
A US court sitting in Ohio sentenced Joseph Oloyede, the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun state, to 56 months imprisonment for defrauding the US government of $4.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds.
Oloyede was apprehended in April 2024, alongside Edward Oluwasanmi, a Nigerian pastor, for alleged COVID-19-related fraudulent activities. The duo faced a 13-count charge in court, encompassing conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, and engaging in monetary transactions with criminally derived property.
Following the judgment, Ipetumodu has been plagued by instability, with growing pressure on the state government to decide the monarch’s future.
Adeleke, in his first open reaction to the development, directed Babatunde during the State Executive Council meeting, where critical state policies were reviewed and implementation directives were issued to ministries and agencies, to “take action on the ugly development at Ipetumodu where the King was recently jailed in the United States of America.”
Preliminary reports suggested that tension erupted on Tuesday during a gathering of princes in the Town, after a proposal was made for Governor Adeleke to declare the stool vacant. The meeting, convened within the palace premises and chaired by the Asalu of Ipetumodu, Chief Sunday Adedeji, began at 4 p.m. and proceeded without incident until a prince demanded that Adedeji, as the most senior surviving kingmaker, submit a formal letter to Governor Adeleke declaring the throne vacant. Adedeji, however,he refused the request and reportedly excused himself from any effort to declare the stool vacant. His decision prompted a shouting match among the attendees, resulting in the meeting’s dissolution .
When reached for comment, Adedeji acknowledged his rejection of the proposal, saying only: “It is true. Peace has to reign first,” before declining to comment further.
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