Governor Seyi Makinde has officially presented the Staff and Certificate of Office to the newly crowned Alaafin of Oyo, Prince Abimbola Owoade.
Owoade, aged 46, was appointed by the governor on Friday as the new Alaafin after the position became vacant following the death of Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III on April 22, 2022.
The ceremony took place on Monday morning at the Exco Chamber of the Governor’s Office in Ibadan, the state capital.
The presentation signals the formal ascension of the new monarch to the revered throne of Alaafin of Oyo.
This comes barely few days after kingmakers in Oyo rejected the appointment of Prince Abimbola Owoade as the new Alaafin
The Kingmakers, in a letter addressed to the governor, declared the appointment illegal and void.
They pointed out that they had not approved Owoade for the position, and thus, his selection was not in accordance with traditional procedures.
They insisted that their chosen candidate for the Alaafin was Prince Luqman Adelodun Gbadegesin.
Meanwhile, Owoade’s appointment as the 46th Alaafin of Oyo is expected to bring a wealth of global experience, educational insight, and visionary leadership to the throne.
His agenda includes initiatives to empower widows and widowers, modernise the palace while preserving cultural heritage, promote Yoruba traditions, establish a museum for Yoruba artifacts, enhance commerce and economic development in Oyo, and create vocational training programmes for youth employment.
