Oba-elect asks court to stop Aiyedatiwa from installing rival

Ondo State Governor, Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa. Credit: Ondo State Government House

The oba-elect of Bolorunduro, Ondo East Local Government Area of Ondo State, Oba Samuel Fawehinmi, has urged the state High Court sitting in Ondo town to stop the state from installing another person as a monarch of the community.
The State Executive Council recently approved the appointment of Prof Thompson Akinifesi as the new monarch of Bolorunduro.
But Fawehinmi, who dragged the government before Justice Bolatito Ajibade of the High Court, told the court that the recent reappointment of Akinifesi as the oba-elect by the government was not only an infraction of court process, but also a deliberate action to abuse the court, saying the matter had been in court before the pronouncement of the government.
He urged the court to rescind the decision of the government with immediate effect and install him as the eligible oba-elect of the community.
Speaking through his lead counsel, Mr Thompson Akinyemi, on Tuesday during the court proceeding, the oba-elect challenged the move by the current administration to reappoint another person after he had been fully given a letter of appointment during the late Rotimi Akeredolu administration in 2022.
The claimant explained that he had been given a letter of appointment in 2022 and it was signed by the then Secretary to the Ondo State Government, Princess Oladuni Odu, during the era of the late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.
He equally urged the court to grant him all his pending applications earlier submitted before the court and set aside the decision of the government.
Addressing the court, however, counsel for Prof Akinnifesi, Mr Gbenga Akinbinu, exonerated the government from any wrongdoing in the case and urged the court to disregard the claims by the claimants.
After hearing the arguments from both parties, Justice Ajibade adjourned the case to November 24, 2026.

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