Kingmakers in Ikere Ekiti, Ekiti State are sharply divided over the selection of Prince Samuel Adejimi Adu as the Oba-elect of the community.
While 11 of the 14 kingmakers in the community upheld the selection of Adu as the new monarch, the remaining three kingmakers rejected his selection.
The pro-Adu kingmakers said his selection followed due process as stipulated by the extant laws on chieftaincy matters in the state.
The kingmakers, who dismissed media report that the screening process into the Ogoga of Ikere Ekiti stool was fraudulent, insisted that the exercise was carried out through the consultation of the ifa oracle and voting conducted in the presence of two representatives of each of the royal houses and a government representative.
The stool became vacant after the demise of Oba Samuel Adegboye.
Addressing journalists in Ikere Ekiti on the issue, with the other 10 kingmakers in attendance, the head of the kingmakers, the Sao of Ikere Ekiti, Chief Omotosho James, noted that the appointment of an Oba is a sacred matter.
James condemned the hiring of newspapers by some disgruntled elements within the town in order to wrestle the vacant Ogoga stool.