The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has appealed to contestants for the vacant stool of Olufon of Ifon-Omima in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State to embrace dialogue and allow peace to prevail in the long-running chieftaincy dispute.
The appeal was delivered by the monarch of Ifon-Osun in Osun State, Oba Peter Ipadeola, who visited Ifon-Omima on Saturday to promote reconciliation among the contestants and other stakeholders.
The Olufon stool has remained vacant since the death of Oba Israel Adeusi in 2020. Disagreements over the selection process have prevented the community from installing a successor for six years.
Ipadeola said the Ooni sent him to help resolve the dispute and urged those seeking the throne to prioritise the community’s interests over personal ambitions.
“I am here at the behest of the Ooni of Ife, and he will be happy if I am able to resolve the issue and there is total peace in this town. He asked me to tell all the contestants to cooperate and give room for a peaceful resolution,” he said.
He warned that the absence of a traditional ruler could leave the community without proper representation before government and other traditional institutions.
“A town or community without a reigning king is in darkness and will be deprived of development and progress. There is nobody to fight and defend your cause in the council of Obas and demand your rights from the government,” he added.
The Asuada of Ifon-Omima, Chief Tunde Eniolorunda, described the visit as significant and said it presented an opportunity to end the dispute and pave the way for a new Olufon.
He urged the Ondo State Government to allow the selection process to follow the existing chieftaincy declaration and called for transparency without interference.
“The community is saying no. Follow the laid-down declaration. Let us have a king like any other town,” he said.Eniolorunda also called for an investigation into the killing of the late monarch, stating that the community is still seeking answers.
“For the past six years now, we don’t have a king and we will not give up our demand for an investigation to unravel those behind the monarch’s murder,” he said.
President of the Ifon Improvement Forum, Major General Benjamin Badewole (rtd), traced efforts to resolve the crisis to the formation of the Olufon Memorial 2020 after Adeusi’s death.
A five-man committee under his leadership later consulted the Olori Ebis, secretaries of the seven ruling houses and other stakeholders before recommending that the contest be thrown open.
The state government rejected the proposal, saying no chieftaincy declaration supported such an arrangement.
Badewole said the forum’s executive proposed three options for resolving the dispute in February 2026 and submitted them to the state government on February 14, but has yet to receive a response.
The Ifon Association in America and the Ooni were then approached for intervention, leading to Ipadeola’s peace mission.He appealed to the contestants to set aside their differences.
“Permit me to appeal to all the contestants to close ranks, bury individual ambitions and allow us find a peaceful solution to the problem at hand. On behalf of the IIF, we are here to appeal to all the contestants to bury individual ambition and work for the unity of the community,” he said.
