Adebutu’s Visit Sparks Awori Traditional Power Row

A fresh traditional leadership dispute has emerged in Ogun State following the visit of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, to the palace of the Olota of Ota, with the Palace of the Olofin Adimula Oodua of Ado-Odo distancing itself from any suggestion that the meeting represented all Awori traditional rulers in the state.

Adebutu visited the Olota of Ota on Tuesday in an engagement reportedly involving traditional rulers from the Ota axis. Reports of the visit described the gathering as an “Awori Obas Forum.”

However, in a statement issued Wednesday by Chief Kazeem Akinsola Nasir, the Ìríjú Oba of Ado-Odo and Secretary to the Palace of Olofin Adimula, the Olofin’s palace said the visit should not be interpreted as representing the collective position of Awori monarchs across Ogun.

“The Palace wishes to categorically clarify and set the record straight that the said visit should not be construed as a representation of all Awori traditional rulers in Ogun State,” the statement said.

According to the palace, while Ota remains an important Awori town and the Olota is respected within his traditional jurisdiction, the gathering was, “from all indications, limited to traditional rulers within the Ota axis and Igbesa area.”

“It therefore does not represent the totality of Awori Obas in Ogun State,” it added.

The development has revived an existing debate over the structure and leadership of Awori traditional institutions in Ogun State.

A similar disagreement surfaced in 2025 when the Olota of Ota was reported to have described himself as chairman of an Awori Obas Forum, prompting a response from the Olofin’s palace rejecting any suggestion that the Olofin was subordinate to such a forum.

The latest statement, however, went further to challenge the legal status of any body purporting to speak for all Awori monarchs in the state.

“For the avoidance of doubt, there is presently no legally recognised Awori Traditional Council or Awori Council of Obas in Ogun State that confers authority on any individual monarch to speak or act on behalf of all Awori traditional rulers across the State,” the palace declared.

It also asserted the distinct position of the Olofin of Ado-Odo, saying the monarch “cannot be subsumed under, or placed under the leadership of, any purported Awori Obas Forum that has no statutory recognition and in which the Olofin of Ado-Odo is not a member.”

The historical dispute over Awori traditional administration is not new.

In 2020, traditional rulers from Awori communities in Ado-Odo/Ota and parts of Ifo announced the formation of an Awori Obas Forum and called for an independent traditional council for Awori monarchs, arguing that the existing arrangement placed them under different traditional authorities.

The Olofin’s palace therefore urged political actors and the media to exercise caution in interpreting traditional rulers’ participation in political engagements.

“Participation by selected traditional rulers in any political engagement should not automatically be presented as the collective position of the entire Awori traditional institution,” the statement said.

The palace said it remained committed to the “unity, peace, development and preservation of Awori heritage,” but insisted that the historical and legally recognised status of individual traditional institutions must be respected.

Ado-Odo and Ota are both within Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, an area with significant Awori traditional heritage. The Olofin of Ado-Odo is the traditional ruler of the Ado-Odo kingdom, while the Olota is the traditional ruler of Ota.