Otunba Owoyemi while speaking to journalists at his Idowa Ijebu country home on Saturday, said that “so far, eight potential candidates to the Awujale throne have approached us with money, but we have turned it down. The council of elders told them that we don’t want anything of such.

“All that matter to us is a transparent and fair selection process where only the best from our ruling house are put forward to kingmakers for the selection as next Awujale”.

Owoyemi, a former President of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, said the late Awujale, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona during his lifetime haa warned that the choice of his successor should not be allowed to be dictated by people with deep pockets or moneybags as this will cause a lot of set back for Ijebuland.

Owoyemi said that “during the 2019 Ojude Oba festival when it was being said that some people have budgeted N1bn to spend so that they can become the next Awujale, Oba Adetona warned that his succession must not be allowed to be hijacked by moneybags.

“Oba Adetona said though, he never knew when his time would be up, but whenever it happened, his successor must be the right candidate, the person who has the capability to further take Ijebu Ode to greater height, not the person who will bring it down and that has been our guiding spirit. We won’t yield the ground for whoever thinks he has the money to throw around”.

Owoyemi while speaking on some crack within the family, extended olive branch to everyone, urging them to shield their sword and join forces with the leadership of the family to produce the best ever Awujale in the history of Ijebu and Yoruba land as a whole.

He explained, “we have always been talking to everyone to be one accord, we are even ready to make concession as long as it is not injurious or unreasonable for the sake of peace because we are all from same mother, so why should there be strive and unnecessary wranglings?”