Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has presented the staff of office and instrument of appointment to Professor Thompson Akinyele Akinnifesi. The ceremony took place in Bolorunduro, Ondo East Local Government Area, on Monday, 26 October.
The state government recognises Akinnifesi as Bolorunduro’s pioneer Ekigbade. His emergence follows a contested succession process. A rival claimant, Samuel Fawehinmi, had asked the Ondo State High Court to stop Akinnifesi’s installation.
Aiyedatiwa urged the new monarch to exercise restraint and use his authority to promote cohesion. He appealed to the community’s five founding families and ruling houses to put aside the rivalries surrounding the selection.
He said the instrument of office should strengthen peace in the domain and should not be used to victimise perceived opponents. State broadcaster OSRC reported the presentation and the governor’s appeal on Monday.
The governor said the Ekigbade stool was among chieftaincies recognised under Part One of the Chiefs Law of Ondo State. That recognition followed the government’s acceptance of recommendations from the Justice C. E. T. Ajama Commission of Inquiry into chieftaincy matters.
He said the community had no registered chieftaincy declaration for the newly recognised stool, so the selection proceeded under its native law and custom. Representatives of the town’s 10 quarters acted as kingmakers.
According to the governor’s account, they selected Akinnifesi of the Akinyefesi family on 17 April. He said the State Executive Council approved the appointment on 7 September after examining the process.
The earlier Oloja of Bolorunduro, Chief Johnson Eniola Akinlosotu, died in September 2021. Disagreements over filling the position subsequently led to litigation and competing claims to the stool.
In its court report of 9 October, Punch said Fawehinmi had challenged the government’s decision before Justice Bolatito Ajibade in Ondo town. Through his lawyer, Thompson Akinyemi, he argued that the administration should not appoint another person while his challenge was before the court.
Fawehinmi said the administration of former governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu had given him an appointment letter in 2022. He asked the court to reverse the approval of Akinnifesi and recognise his own claim.
Akinnifesi’s lawyer, Gbenga Akinbinu, rejected the allegations of wrongdoing and urged the court to disregard the claimants’ arguments. Punch reported that Justice Ajibade adjourned the proceedings to 24 November.
At Monday’s ceremony, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Amidu Takuro maintained that the government had not manipulated Akinnifesi’s emergence. He said the ministry was carrying out a directive to fill vacant traditional stools through lawful processes.
Ondo East council chairman Joshua Ogunduyilemi said traditional institutions had a role in resolving disputes and supporting community development. A stakeholders’ meeting he convened had helped establish the five ruling houses, according to the governor’s account.
Aiyedatiwa also asked the monarch to support security efforts against banditry and kidnapping. He urged him to report suspicious movements and activities to the appropriate authorities.
In his acceptance speech, Akinnifesi pledged peaceful and inclusive leadership. He appealed for electricity and potable water and invited investment in agriculture, real estate, tourism and industry, while asking indigenes at home and abroad to support the community’s development.
Archive photograph: Lucky Aiyedatiwa in office, source dated 11 April 2025. Hexteam / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0. Modest-resolution original, 800 × 600 pixels. Social version cropped, resized and overlaid. It does not show Monday’s installation or Oba Thompson Akinnifesi.
