Ekiti Community Gets New Traditional Ruler After 25-Year Vacancy

The Ekiti State Executive Council has approved the appointment of Prince Bamidele Oni as the new Owa of Oke-Ako Ekiti in Ikole Local Government Area, ending a 25-year vacancy that has lingered since the year 2000.

The approval was granted during the council’s sixth meeting of 2026, held on Tuesday at the Executive Council Chamber in Ado-Ekiti. According to the State Ministry of Information, the prolonged vacancy followed a succession dispute that dated back to the passing of the late monarch, Oba Jackson Omotayo Ogunbiyi, on December 10, 2000.

The traditional stool is governed by a Chieftaincy Declaration established by the Oyewole Chieftaincy Review Commission, which provides for two Ruling Houses Aofin and Okediosan to rotate occupancy. With the immediate past Owa coming from the Okediosan Ruling House, the Aofin Ruling House was next in line to produce the next monarch.

However, the Aofin Ruling House comprises three branches: Oke-Aofin, Odo-Aofin, and Afata. These branches had been locked in litigation for approximately 25 years over their entitlement to present candidates for the stool.

The Supreme Court delivered a judgment on December 19, 2025, affirming that every male member of the three branches was eligible to contest for the chieftaincy. Following this ruling, stakeholders entered into a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at promoting equity and preserving communal harmony.

Under the arrangement, the Oke-Aofin branch, which had never produced the Owa, was permitted to present candidates for the current vacancy. The Odo-Aofin branch would have the opportunity to present candidates at the next turn of the Aofin Ruling House.

The selection process was conducted following traditional practices, including an Ifa divination exercise. Prince Oni emerged as the unanimous choice of the four participating kingmakers and was subsequently declared Owa-elect of Oke-Ako Ekiti. The council also authorized the publication of his appointment in the Ekiti State Government Gazette.

In a statement, the Oke-Ako Progressive Union described the approval as the conclusion of a long succession process. The union noted that the community had endured more than two and a half decades without a substantive traditional ruler, a period characterized by legal disputes that reached the Supreme Court.

Prince Olarewaju Bamidele Oni was born on March 2, 1974, into the Aofin Royal Family. He holds a Higher National Diploma in Business Administration from the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, and an Ordinary National Diploma from Ondo State Polytechnic, now Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo. He also attended Community High School, Oke-Ako Ekiti, where he obtained his West African School Certificate.

The union congratulated the people of Oke-Ako Ekiti, stating that the monarch’s emergence marks the beginning of a new chapter for the community, one that will bring unity, peace, stability, and development.