KEY POINTS

• Fusengbuwa Ruling House says screening of 86 nominees for Awujale has been completed

• Security agencies deployed as rival ruling house protests exclusion from venue

• KWAM1 dispute deepens after petition to Ogun governor is dismissed

The Fusengbuwa Ruling House says that the long wait for a new Awujale of Ijebu land is almost over, and a new leader should be found within the next month.

After the screening exercise in Ijebu Ode, Abdullateef Owoyemi, Olori Ebi of the ruling house and former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, made this announcement.

Owoyemi said that everything had gone smoothly and told anyone who was unhappy with the results to go through the right government channels to get help. He said that the kingmakers would do their job without making mistakes or being unfair.

He said that 86 princes and princesses who wanted to be on the throne were successfully nominated. He said that the names would now be sent to the kingmakers, who would choose the best candidates to send to the Ogun State government for approval.

Security tightened amid protests

There were a lot of security guards around Bisirodipe Hall in the Government Reserved Area of Ijebu Ode, where the nomination took place. Police, the Department of State Services, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were in charge of who could get into the venue. They made sure that everyone had a valid entry permit.

There was a brief rise in tension when a group connected to the Eruobodo Ruling House was turned away because they didn’t have permission. The group yelled loudly, saying that the process had unfairly kept them out.

Adeyemi Oduneye, the group’s leader, said that being left out of the selection process for the next Awujale made them feel like they couldn’t vote. The protest got a lot of attention because the group was linked to Fuji musician Wasiu Ayinde, who is better known as KWAM1.