Olute Stool: No Selection Meeting Held Yet – Olule Family Head
***as Pa Adepeibi debunks reports of four princes shortlisted for the throne
***Ose Council says it has not been invited to any selection meeting
The Head of the Olule Family of the Olute Royal Dynasty, Pa Jacob Oladele Adepeibi, has dismissed claims that a meeting was held to nominate successors to the vacant Olute throne.
Pa Adepeibi’s reaction follows widespread reports alleging that a selection meeting was convened and that four princes had been shortlisted in line with a recent court ruling which ordered the vacation of the stool by the former occupier.
Speaking with journalists, Pa Adepeibi insisted that no such meeting had taken place and reaffirmed his position as the Olori-Ebi (family head), maintaining that he alone has the traditional authority to initiate the nomination process.
“I have not called any meeting to that effect,” he said. “Anyone spreading such claims is being mischievous and risks invoking ancestral wrath if they do not desist.”
He warned that the spread of false information could incite unrest in the Ute Kingdom, and emphasized that only the rightful family authority can lead the selection process.
According to him, those eligible to contest the Olute stool include:
- Prince Yaya Aderosoye Omoloja
- Prince Olubunmi Agbaminoja
- Prince Alhaji Shehu Omoloja
- Prince Abdullahi Abimbola Omoloja
- Prince Francis Amobonye
- Prince Gabriel Ajakaye Amobonye
- Prince Idowu Adeusi Ajakaye Amobonye
- Prince Ben Olu Oseboyowa
- Prince Sunday Obasoyen
Also speaking, the second-in-command to the Olule family head, Pa Michael Adesunloye, described the alleged meeting as a hoax and urged those behind it to desist from actions that could jeopardize the fragile peace in the community.
He called on the relevant authorities, particularly the Ose Local Government Council, to disregard the claims of the purported nomination group.
In his reaction, the Special Adviser on Community Engagement to the Chairman of Ose Local Government Area, Dr. Saliu Omotoso, confirmed that the council has not received any formal invitation to participate in a selection meeting, as required by law.
Dr. Omotoso added that the council had already submitted names of warrant chiefs to the Ondo State Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, in anticipation of the formal commencement of the selection process.
It will be recalled that a High Court sitting in Owo recently deposed Oba Michael Adetunji Oluwole as the Olute of Ute, 29 years after he ascended the throne. The court also restrained him from parading himself as monarch.
