File: Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has appealed to contestants for the vacant stool of the Olufon of Ifon-Omima in the Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State to embrace dialogue and allow peace to prevail in the protracted chieftaincy dispute.
The appeal was conveyed by the monarch of Ifon-Osun in Osun State, Oba Peter Ipadeola, who visited Ifon-Omima to facilitate reconciliation among the contestants and other stakeholders.
The Olufon stool became vacant following the death of Oba Israel Adeusi in 2020, and the community has been unable to install a successor amid disagreements over the selection process.
Speaking during the visit, Ipadeola said the Ooni sent him to help resolve the dispute and urged those seeking the throne to put the community’s interests above personal ambitions.
“I am here at the behest of the Ooni of Ife, and he will be happy if I can resolve the issue and there is total peace in this town. He asked me to tell all the contestants to cooperate and give room for a peaceful resolution,” he said.
The monarch warned that the absence of a traditional ruler could limit the community’s representation before the government and other traditional institutions.
“A town or community without a reigning king is in darkness and will be deprived of development and progress. There is nobody to fight and defend your cause in the council of Obas and demand your rights from the government,” he said.
The Asuada of Ifon-Omima, Chief Tunde Eniolorunda, described the visit as significant, saying it offered an opportunity to resolve the dispute and pave the way for the emergence of a new Olufon.
He appealed to the Ondo State Government to allow the selection process to proceed in line with the existing chieftaincy declaration and called for transparency without interference.
“The community is saying no. Follow the laid-down declaration. Let us have a king like any other town,” he said.
Eniolorunda also called for an investigation into the killing of the late monarch, saying the community was still seeking answers over the incident.
“For the past six years now, we don’t have a king and we will not give up our demand for an investigation to unravel those behind the monarch’s murder,” he stated.
The President of the Ifon Improvement Forum, Major General Benjamin Badewole, traced efforts to resolve the dispute to the formation of the Olufon Memorial 2020 following Adeusi’s death.
Badewole said a five-man committee was subsequently established under his leadership to explore a solution to the impasse.
He said the committee consulted family heads, secretaries of the seven ruling houses and other stakeholders before recommending that the contest be thrown open.
According to him, the state government rejected the proposal on the grounds that there was no chieftaincy declaration supporting such an arrangement.
He added that the forum’s executive proposed three options for resolving the dispute and submitted them to the state government on February 14, 2026, but had yet to receive a response.
Badewole said the Ifon Association in America and the Ooni were subsequently approached to intervene, leading to Ipadeola’s peace mission.
He appealed to the contestants to set aside their differences and work toward a mutually acceptable resolution.
“Permit me to appeal to all the contestants to close ranks, bury individual ambitions and allow us find a peaceful solution to the problem at hand. On behalf of the IIF, we are here to appeal to all the contestants to bury individual ambition and work for the unity of the community,” he said.