The Ekiti State Executive Council has formally approved the appointment of Prince Bamidele Olarewaju Oni as the new Owa of Oke-Ako Ekiti, located in the Ikole Local Government Area. 

The decision, reached during a state council meeting presided over by Governor Biodun Oyebanji, brings an end to a quarter-century-long royal vacancy that had stalled traditional leadership in the town since the year 2000.

Announcing the approval, the Ekiti State Commissioner for Information, Taiwo Olatunbosun, highlighted that the throne is governed by a Chieftaincy Declaration that dictates rotation between two main ruling houses: Aofin and Okediosan. Following the tenure of the previous monarch from the Okediosan line, the stool rightfully reverted to the Aofin Ruling House.

However, decades of legal battles among the three internal branches of Aofin—Oke-Aofin, Odo-Aofin, and Afata—stalled the selection process until a Supreme Court judgment delivered in December 2025 affirmed the rights of male heirs across the lineages to contest.

To preserve harmony and resolve the impasse, local stakeholders signed a Memorandum of Understanding stipulating that the Oke-Aofin branch, which had never previously produced a king, would present a candidates for the vacant stool. Traditional rites, including Ifa consultation, were subsequently conducted, culminating in Prince Oni emerging as the unanimous choice of the kingmakers.

Born in March 1974 and an alumnus of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, the newly appointed monarch is expected to bring stability, unity, and fresh development opportunities to Oke-Ako Ekiti after more than two decades without a traditional ruler.