The Aresaadu of Iresaadu in Surulere Local Government Area of Oyo State, Oba Abraham Adeyeye Oyerinde, has pleaded with the Acting Governor of the state, Chief Adebayo Lawal, to stop the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Ademola Ojo, from illegally removing him as the substantive Aresaadu of Iresaadu, in flagrant disobedience of subsisting court orders.

The monarch said Ojo had in September 2025 and September 2026 written two letters to the Chairman of Surulere Local Government to begin the process of nominating a parallel Aresaadu premised on the falsehood that a court judgment had nullified his appointment as the substantive Aresaadu.

A statement by Oyerinde urged the acting governor to direct stoppage of the meetings already commenced by the Chairman of Surulere Local Government and the Emiolu Ruling House to nominate a fresh candidate for the throne of Aresaadu, which has not been declared vacant by any court of competent jurisdiction.

He said: “It is of extreme importance and urgency to again call your attention to a disturbing matter as it relates to the injustice meted out to me as Aresaadu of Iresaadu, Oba Abraham Oyerinde, by the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters Headed by Ademola Ojo.

“The ministry has just issued a fresh letter in September 2026 to the Chairman of Surulere Local Government directing him to instruct Emiolu Ruling House to nominate a candidate for appointment as a parallel Aresaadu, while I am still on the throne.

“Not only that the Court of Appeal (in Appeal No CA/1/291/2002) had ruled that it is not the turn of Emiolu Ruling House to present candidate for the throne, but also the subsequent suit (Suit No HOI/4/2019) filed by Emiolu Ruling House to challenge my appointment has since been dismissed without any appeal on it.

“I had made an earlier appeal in an open letter published in Tribune of 28th October 2025 in this regard when the Ministry issued a similar letter to the Chairman of Surulere Local Government sometime in September 2025 to initiate the process of appointing a parallel Aresaadu from Osunbiyi Ruling House, the process that had been concluded, supervised and documented by government officials more than seven years ago, which culminated in the approval by former Governor Abiola Ajimobi.’’

The monarch, however, appealed to the acting governor to urgently direct the withdrawal of the letters issued by the Hon Commissioner and in addition direct the stoppage of any meeting organised by the Chairman of Surulere Local Government and the Emiolu Ruling House to nominate a fresh candidate for the throne of Aresaadu, which has not been declared vacant by any court of competent jurisdiction.

He called on the state government to nullify the entire process of any fresh nomination to the non-vacant Aresaadu chieftaincy stool, being an absolute illegality and flagrant disobedience to the subsisting court orders and to sanction any erring government officers found culpable. (The Nation)