They said the selection of Olalekan Akadiri as the new Akirun of Ikirun town followed due process and was widely accepted by the people of the town.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the former traditional ruler of the town, Oba AbdulRauf Olawale Adedeji, who ascended the royal stool in 1991, joined his ancestors in February during a brief illness.
Addressing a press conference on behalf of other kingmakers, High Chief Moruf Onifade, the Elemon of Ikirunland, described the allegation that the selection process by the kingmakers was manipulated as baseless.
Onifade said the 21 contestants from Obaara ruling house agreed that the seven kingmakers should vote to choose one person to be the king among them.
He said: “We invited all the 21 contestants for the stool to the local government secretariat and they all agreed that the eight kingmakers should vote to choose who to be the king.
“After the voting process, Lekan Akadiri scored six votes, while another contestant scored one vote, making seven, but I was an observer during the process and I could not vote.
“Any allegation that the process was manipulated is baseless and untrue because laid down rules for selection process was followed.”
Onifade also said the allegation that Governor Gboyega Oyetola manipulated the kingmakers to select the king-elect was not true.
Speaking in the same vein, Chief Rasheed Diekola, the Odofin of Ikirun town, said the allegation that the kingmakers collected money to influence the process was not true.
Diekola said the kingmakers followed their heart and what was best for the town in choosing the king-elect.
According to him, the name of the king-elect was also taken to the Oracle, to the Christian and Muslim circles for prayers and the result was positive.
Diekola added that due process according to the tradition of the town was duly followed in the selection of the king-elect.
Meanwhile, Youths of Ikirun town under the aegis of Concerned Ikirun Youths said the selection process of the king-elect was faulty.
Addressing a press conference on behalf of the youths in Osogbo, Olawale Olufemi said that the selection process was undemocratic and negate due process.
Olufemi said: “We feel that the purported selection process of the new Akirun is faulty.
“This is because the Eesa, who doubles as the Head of Kingmakers, was unable to reach his colleagues 72 hours prior to the purported selection process.
“At this age, Ikirun is too blessed to be led by an uneducated person.”
Olufemi, who said that they were from Obaara ruling house, where the king-elect came from, said the process that produced the Akirun-elect should be declared null and void.
He also said the state government should set up a committee to investigate the process and the claims of the parties involved.