From Kayemo News
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 in the traditional stool.
The approval was given at the council’s sixth meeting of 2026, held on Tuesday, August 18, at the Executive Council Chamber, New Governor’s Office, Ado-Ekiti.
According to the highlights of the meeting published by the State Ministry of Information on its website on Wednesday, the vacancy dates back to 2000 and followed a prolonged dispute over succession to the traditional stool.
It said, “The Ekiti State Executive Council approved the appointment of Prince Bamidele Olanrewaju Oni as the new Owa of Oke-Ako Ekiti in Ikole Local Government Area, bringing to an end a prolonged vacancy in the traditional stool dating back to 2000.
“The Owa of Oke-Ako Ekiti is a recognised chieftaincy governed by a Chieftaincy Declaration produced by the Oyewole Chieftaincy Review Commission, which provides for two Ruling Houses, namely, Aofin and Okediosan, to rotate the stool.
“Council noted that the immediate past Owa hailed from the Okediosan Ruling House, making the Aofin Ruling House next in line to produce the occupant of the stool. The Aofin Ruling House comprises three stocks, Oke-Aofin, Odo-Aofin and Afata.”
The council said the three stocks had been involved in about 25 years of litigation over their entitlement to present candidates for the stool.
“The Supreme Court, in a judgment delivered on December 19, 2025, affirmed that every male member of the three stocks was entitled to contest for the chieftaincy.
“Following the judgment, stakeholders entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to promote equity and preserve communal harmony.
“Under the arrangement, the Oke-Aofin stock, which had never produced the Owa, was to present candidates for the current vacancy, while the Odo-Aofin stock would have the opportunity to present candidates at the next turn of the Aofin Ruling House.”
The state government said the selection process was conducted in accordance with tradition, including an Ifa divination exercise, and the rule of law.
It said 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 authorised the publication of the legal notice of his appointment in the Ekiti State Government Gazette.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued on Wednesday, the National Public Relations Officer of the Oke-Ako Progressive Union, Muyiwa Olukosi, described the approval as the conclusion of a long succession process.
It said, “The stool became vacant following the passing of the late monarch, Oba Jackson Omotayo Ogunbiyi, on December 10, 2000. Since then, the people of Òkè-Àkò have endured more than two and a half decades without a substantive traditional ruler, a period characterised by legal disputes and a prolonged succession process that eventually travelled through the courts up to the Supreme Court.”
The union said the selection complied with the Registered Chieftaincy Declaration and the Chiefs Law (2012) of Ekiti State.
It added, “Prince Olarewaju Bamidele Oni was born on March 2, 1974, into the Àòfin Royal Family of Òkè-Àkò Ekiti. He holds a Higher National Diploma in Business Administration from the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti and an Ordinary National Diploma in Business Administration from Ondo State Polytechnic, now Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State. He also attended Community High School, Òkè-Àkò Ekiti, where he obtained his West African School Certificate.”
OPU congratulated the people of Òkè-Àkò Ekiti, saying the monarch’s emergence marked the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the community, “one that will offer unity, peace, stability and development.”