Tension erupted on Tuesday during a meeting of princes in Ipetumodu, Osun State, after a call was made for Governor Ademola Adeleke to declare the stool of the Apetumodu vacant following the conviction of Oba Joseph Oloyede in the United States.
Oba Oloyede, the 27th Apetumodu, was recently sentenced to more than four years’ imprisonment in the U.S. for COVID-19 loan fraud.
He was also ordered to forfeit assets and pay over $4.4m in restitution.
The meeting, held within the palace premises and presided over by the Asalu of Ipetumodu, Chief Sunday Adedeji, started around 4 p.m. and progressed without incident until a prince demanded that Adedeji, as the most senior surviving kingmaker, write a formal letter to Governor Adeleke declaring the throne vacant.
Adedeji, however, rejected the request and reportedly recused himself from any move to declare the stool vacant.
His stance sparked a shouting match among the attendees, causing the meeting to break down around 6 p.m.
Speaking afterwards, a prince from the Aribile Ruling House, Olaboye Ayoola, expressed disappointment at Adedeji’s refusal.
He said, “During the meeting, we all decided that two new kingmakers should be elected to replace the deceased ones and a letter written to the governor declaring the seat vacant. But Chief Adedeji refused, insisting we won’t do that. He also announced he was no longer interested in being a kingmaker. That led to chaos, and the meeting ended without any resolution.”
When contacted, Adedeji confirmed his rejection of the proposal, saying only: “It is true. Peace has to reign first,” before declining further comment.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio had, in an August 26, 2025 statement, confirmed Oba Oloyede’s sentencing. The monarch, alongside a co-conspirator, was found guilty of exploiting COVID-19 loan programmes under the CARES Act between April 2020 and February 2022.
Since the judgement, Ipetumodu has been unsettled, with calls mounting for the state government to decide on the monarch’s fate.
Osun State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Dosu Babatunde, told The PUNCH that the government would obtain a Certified True Copy of the U.S. judgment before taking action.
Meanwhile, divisions have emerged among the princes of Ipetumodu’s two ruling houses — Aribile, which produced Oba Oloyede, and Fagbemokun.
While some in Aribile argue that the throne should remain with them until Oloyede completes his sentence, others insist a replacement should be chosen from the same house among those who previously contested the stool.
Princes from Fagbemokun, however, argue that the next Apetumodu should come from their fold, since Aribile produced the embattled monarch.
Security was tight at the disrupted meeting, with Department of State Services operatives stationed in a patrol van outside the palace.
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