Eleruwa: Reverse Adegbola's appointment or face law suit, Laribikusi ruling House tackles Makinde
Controversy has started trailing the appointment of the new Eleruwa of Eruwa in Ibarapa axis of Oyo State.
This followed the reappointment of deposed Oba Samuel Adegbola as the new Eleruwa after his removal by the Supreme Court on November 29, 2019, having reigned for 21 years.
Governor Seyi Makinde had on March 6, 2025, issued a certificate and presented the staff of office to the Adegbola as the new Eleruwa.
The decision has angered the Laribikusi Ruling House in Eruwa, Ibarapa East Local Government Area of Oyo State, which has vowed to challenge the appointment, saying it is their turn to produce the next Eleruwa of Eruwaland not the Akalako family.
Secretary of the Laribikusi ruling House, Abolade Ijiola, while addressing newsmen at the NUJ Secretariat in Ibadan, the Oyo State Capital, said the supreme court mandated their family to nominate another candidate for the position.
Ijaola, however, vowed that the Laribikusi Ruling House would approach the court again for redress if Governor Makinde failed to comply with the ruling.
“It is the turn of our family to produce the new Eleruwa of Eruwaland, not the Akalako family.”
“If not for the peace-loving nature of the people of Eruwa, a crisis could have erupted due to the governor’s actions.”
“We are the members of the Laribikusi Ruling House, Eruwa, Ibarapa East Local Government Area, Oyo State. This ruling house is one of the two recognized by Eruwa tradition and the Eleruwa Chieftaincy Declaration of 1958.”
“The 1958 Chieftaincy Declaration clearly outlines the rotation between the two ruling houses, Laribikusi and Akalako. This rotation is to be honored, with one family succeeding the other.”
Ijaola then challenged the Local Government Chairman, Kazeem Arogundade, to publicly display the 14-day nomination notice he claimed to have given to the Laribikusi family.
“We stand by our position that neither the Ibarapa East Local Government nor the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters provided us with a 14-day notice for nominations as required by the Chiefs Law of the state.
“We are here to tell the world that the only communication we received from the state government through the local government was an invitation for a meeting with the council management, not the 14-day nomination notice,” he stated.
Recall that the State government through the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Dotun Oyelade, had claimed that the Laribikusi Ruling House had failed to present candidates within the 14-day notice period provided by the Chieftancy declaration.
