Details have emerged on how kingmakers arrived at a shortlist of two in deciding the next Soun of Ogbomoso following the death of Oba Jimoh Oyewunmi last December.
The Laoye family is to produce Oba Oyewunmi’s successor according to the 1953 Soun Chieftaincy Declaration. The declaration recognises five ruling houses – Aboru-Maku, Gbagun, Laoye, Bolanta and Odunaro – with the throne rotating among the five in that order. Oba Oyewunmi was from Gbagun family.
It was learnt that kingmakers did not exempt anyone from the interview stage. According to The Nation, 18 candidates were shortlisted and invited for interviews by the kingmakers. One contender was interviewed by telephone as he was out of the country on a business trip.
Two candidates were shortlisted at the end of the interviews – Lt. Col. Sirajdeen Laoye and US-based pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Afolabi Olaoye who has now resigned.
The chieftaincy declaration stipulates that six members shall constitute the kingmakers’ council but the death of one kingmaker has reduced the number to five. The replacement is yet to be commissioned. The declaration also states that four members of the council shall form a quorum for decision-making.
However, the two shortlisted candidates got votes from two kingmakers each, resulting in a tie. The head of kingmakers resorted to using his casting vote right (power of additional vote) to resolve the tie. His vote went for the pastor, hence he scored three while the military officer scored two.
The kingmakers have since forwarded the former RCCG pastor’s name to the local government for recommendation to the state governor for approval.
