Chiefs and princes from the two ruling houses in Ipetumodu, Osun State, have expressed their support for the state government’s decision to depose Oba Joseph Oloyede as the Apetu of Ipetumodu, endorsing Governor Ademola Adeleke’s move to declare the royal stool vacant following the monarch’s criminal conviction and imprisonment in the United States.

The backing from the Aribile and Fagbemokun ruling houses lends significant traditional legitimacy to the government’s action and signals a broad consensus within the community that the deposition was both necessary and overdue.

The ruling houses had, in fact, been among the most vocal advocates for the monarch’s removal in the months leading up to the formal deposition order, with their representatives previously holding a press conference to demand that the Adeleke administration act decisively on the matter.

Oba Oloyede, 62, a dual Nigerian-American citizen who resides in Medina, Ohio, was sentenced to 56 months in federal prison on 26 August 2025 by United States District Judge Christopher A. Boyko, sitting at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. He had pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud, filing false tax returns and engaging in monetary transactions involving criminally derived property offences connected to the fraudulent misappropriation of COVID-19 relief funds in the United States.

Governor Adeleke signed the formal Deposition Order on 7 May 2026, after the Osun State government received the Certified True Copy of the Ohio court judgment. The state government had taken a cautious, methodical approach to the matter, with the State Executive Council directing the Ministry of Local Government to formally obtain authenticated court records from the United States before any administrative action was taken insisting that a decision of such gravity should not rest on social media reports alone.

The deposition order was unequivocal in its reasoning, stating that the monarch’s fraudulent conduct, his guilty plea, and his public trial and conviction had brought the institution of Obaship and the stool of the Apetumodu of Ipetumodu into disrepute and public odium.

The stool has since been declared vacant, and the state government has indicated that the necessary traditional and legal processes for the appointment of a new Apetu will be initiated at the appropriate time.

Governor Adeleke has called on the sons and daughters of Ipetumodu to remain peaceful and law-abiding throughout the transition. With the ruling houses now aligned behind the government’s position, attention turns to the kingmaking process and what the succession of one of Ife North Local Government Area’s most significant royal stools will look like in the months ahead.