A new Ooni of Ile Ife is set to emerge as one of the four ruling houses contesting to be considered for the royal stool got the government’s nod.
According to reports, the Giesi ruling house received a letter from the state government to make the list of its eligible princes available, putting an end to the ambbitions of princes from the Ogboru, Lafogido and Osinkola ruling houses.
The Osun State Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, which is mandated to handle chieftaincy matters got the go-ahead from Governor Rauf Aregbesola, to commence the process of filling the stool, Vanguard quoted a reliable source to have said, yesterday.
The Giesi Ruling House has, therefore been asked to present its nominees.
Speaking with a source within the Giesi family yesterday, Vanguard gathered that after the preliminary screening by the elders, 27 princes were pencilled down in a list to be presented to the kingmakers.
The Osun State chieftaincy edict stipulates that the government should commence the process of filling the stool by writing the ruling houses to produce candidate for the stool after 14 days that the stool has been vacant.
The Giesi house has 27 contestants.
“If all goes well as expected, the next Ooni may emerge in the next seven days,” Vanguard told by a source.
“But the king-makers are being as thorough as possible since the new Ooni must be a man of vision with deep interest of the town at heart and is ready to sacrifice personal gains for Ife’s overall well-being.
“All the past Oonis did their best to keep Ife on top. The new Ooni must be a man of honour, integrity and strong-will who is determined to see Ife rise to a new level of prominence in development with positive impacts on local residents and the Yoruba at large. This is my vision.” he said.
