Prince Abdulwahab Agbaje of Anilelerin Ruling House in Offa, Kwara State, says the people of Offa remained committed to the traditional way of appointing their Oba.

Agbaje said this on Sunday in Abuja while briefing the media on the protracted court case on the stool of Olofa of Offa.

The case, between the Anilelerin and Olugbese ruling houses, is now at the Supreme Court.

There has been a legal tussle between the two ruling houses following the appointment by kingmakers of Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi of the Anilelerin House as the Olofa of Offa in 2010.

Agbaje said that contrary to insinuations that the selection of Gbadamosi did not follow the due process, it was in accordance with laid down rules and procedures as well as in tandem with the Yoruba tradition.

According to him, Offa has customs and tradition of appointing their Obas and this was duly followed by the kingmakers who selected Gbadamosi as the most suitable candidate for the Olofa stool.

"There are usually natural endowments for the would be king in any ruling house of Yoruba land. Such persons can only be selected by consulting the oracle and going through all the traditional rites.

"You can confirm this from any Offa person. After the death of the former Oba, the kingmakers sat down, followed the procedure, the customs and traditional process of selecting Oba in Offa.

"The two ruling houses were consulted to bring nominees, which has been the normal practice.

"The oracle was consulted before Oba Muftau Gbadamosi emerged as Oba and his name was presented to the state government for final approval," he said.

Agbaje said that the people of Offa had witnessed unusual peace since the emergence of Gbadamosi, adding that the development strides in the town was now unprecedented.

He called on aggrieved party to the throne to sheath its sword after four years of intrigues, stating that such prolong bickering could stall the development of Offa.

Agbaje said that despite attempts in the past to settle the rift between Anilelerin and Olugbense ruling houses in Offa through a committee, the other party had remained adamant.

He said that the fear of a ruling house going into extinction had made it impossible for the aggrieved party to backtrack and allow peace to reign in Offa.

Agbaje said that the people of Offa had been in mourning since the Appeal Court nullified the appointment of Oba Gbadamosi.

He said that this was because the incumbent Oba had impacted positively on the lives of the entire community.

The prince said that Oba Gbadamosi had shown that he was not a self seeking person, but one who loved his community.

He said that the king had made the people to understand that Offa was too big to be manipulated by self seeking individuals who were seeking power for personal interests.

It will be recalled that since the emergence of Oba Muftau Gbadamosi as Olofa of Offa, the Olugbese ruling house had dragged him to court claiming it was their turn to produce the next Olofa.

This led the Olugbese ruling house to file a case before an Offa High Court to challenge the appointment of Gbadamosi, but the High Court upheld the appointment of Gbadamosi on July 19, 2012.

The decision of the High Court was, however, upturned by the Court of Appeal.

The appellate court held that the evidence before it showed that the ascension to the stool of Olofa of Offa is by rotation between the two ruling house.

Hearing on the the matter, which is now at the Supreme Court, has been fixed for April 11, 2016. NAN