Popular Fuji musician, Wasiu Ayinde, popularly known as KWAM 1, has again petitioned Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, over his alleged exclusion from the ongoing process to select the next Awujale of Ijebuland.
In a fresh letter dated January 14, 2026, sighted on Friday, the musician urged the governor to nullify the January 12 nomination exercise, warning that failure to do so could lead to protracted litigation and unrest.
In the letter written through his lawyer, Dr Wahab Shittu, Ayinde described the nomination meeting of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House as unlawful, alleging that it violated provisions of the Ogun State Obas and Chiefs Law, 2021.
He faulted what he termed the “imposition of a delegate system” and the alleged physical exclusion of eligible members of the ruling house from the nomination process.
According to him, the action amounted to an arbitrary and ultra vires exercise of authority, undermining the requirement for an open, inclusive and transparent process.
Ayinde recalled that following the death of the late Awujale, Sikiru Adetona, it was the turn of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House to present candidates for the throne.
He said members were invited through a letter from the Ijebu Ode Local Government dated January 6, 2026, directing a statutory meeting for nominations. However, he alleged that the exercise was compromised.
He stated, “On January 12, 2026, at Bisrod Hotel, Ijebu Ode, the designated venue for the nomination exercise, our client and several other eligible members of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House were deliberately excluded and prevented from entering the venue.
“Heavily armed security personnel, including operatives of the Nigeria Police, were stationed at the venue and allegedly used to disenfranchise legitimate members.
“Entry was restricted through the issuance of special cards to purported ‘delegates’ selected by a faction within the ruling house.”
Ayinde insisted that the delegate system was never agreed to and violated the customary requirement for direct participation of all qualified members.
The musician, who is the Olori Omooba of Ijebuland, declared that any nomination conducted without the full participation of eligible members was “procedurally defective, unlawful and null and void.”
He urged the governor, in the interest of peace and the preservation of traditional institutions, to declare the January 12 exercise null and void, and order a fresh, transparent and inclusive nomination meeting where all eligible members can participate freely.
Despite the controversy, 95 contestants, comprising 94 princes and one princess, reportedly emerged from the nomination meeting held at Bisrod Hall, GRA, Ijebu Ode.
The exercise was said to have been presided over by the Chairman of the ruling house, Otunba Abdulateef Owoyemi, alongside his deputy, Prince Adedokun Ajidagba, and Vice Chairman, Prof. Fassy Yusuf. Officials of the Ijebu Ode Local Government were present as observers.
The Fusengbuwa family had earlier insisted that Ayinde was not a member of the ruling house and therefore not qualified to contest the stool.
Ayinde had previously approached the Ogun State High Court in Ijebu Ode, seeking an interim injunction to stop the process, but the court declined the request, describing it as lacking merit. The suit was later withdrawn.
In an earlier letter dated January 8, 2026, the Fuji star had also criticised the adoption of a delegate system, arguing that fixing the nomination date shortly after the selection of delegates was a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise interested members.