The Giesi Ruling House of Ife has said the family will present Prince Adeyeye Ogunwusi, who is being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission based on an allegation of fraud and forgery to the kingmakers as the next Ooni if he is found to be among the most qualified aspirants.
Ogunwusi is one of the leading contestants to the stool from Giesi Ruling House. The family has been picked to produce the next Ooni of Ife.
The secretary of the Giesi Ruling House in Ife, Prince Adelowo Ogunleye, spoke in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Osogbo on Saturday.
Ogunleye said the family was not aware of the case with the anti-graft agency, stressing that the family would have carried out their own investigation on the matter if the petitioners had written to Giesi family.
The secretary of the ruling house said, “That allegation is between him (Ogunwusi) and the petitioners. We are not aware of it. We read the petition in The PUNCH just like other members of the public.
“We interviewed him (Ogunwusi) just like we did other candidates and he did not mention the case. Nobody raised any matter against him. If they had written formally to us, we would have investigated.
“If he is qualified, we will present him to the kingmakers. Nobody informed us of any case against him.”
The Obalufe of Ife, Oba Solomon Omisakin, who is the head of the kingmakers in the town, when contacted again on Saturday by our correspondent declined to comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, a group, Ife Concerned Citizens, has denied the allegation of fraud and forgery against Ogunwusi
The group subsequently described the allegations as a “calculated and deliberate attempt to smear, malign and assassinate the character of the prince.”
In a statement signed by the President of ICC, Leke Ijiyode, the group stated that Ogunwusi never committed fraud against any individual or corporate organisation, adding that the allegation was concocted by mischief makers who wanted to destroy Ogunwusi’s chances of becoming the Ife king.
The group specifically denied the claim of SHL that Ogunwusi forged the title document of a land property at Lekki Peninsula, Lagos.
“Adeyeye was not the author of the purported forged documents. He did not know about its existence until very recently when SHL brought it to his attention,” the group stated.
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