The Kemta Ogboni House in Abeokuta, Ogun State, has reportedly been sealed amid a dispute among traditional chiefs over the maternal ancestry of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, with the development coming less than two months after Kemta communities publicly welcomed the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate as a son of the soil.
The reported development has introduced a fresh layer of tension into the politics surrounding the 2027 Ogun State governorship election, although details of the latest traditional dispute remain unclear and no formal statement confirming the sealing or the reported suspension of Chief Abayomi Rotimi, the Oluwo of Kemta, has been located in the major sources reviewed.
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The controversy centres on competing positions over Adeola’s maternal connection to Kemta. Some community leaders have publicly affirmed the connection, while the latest report attributed to sources says some chiefs are now questioning whether Kemta should be presented as part of the senator’s maternal heritage.
The dispute is particularly notable because the Kemta community had only recently taken a very different position.
In June, Kemta communities organised a homecoming ceremony for Adeola, during which traditional leaders and residents publicly presented the senator as one of their own.
The Nation reported that the event recognised Adeola’s maternal roots, with organisers stating that his late mother hailed from Kemta Odutolu in Itoku, Abeokuta.
Adeola was subsequently presented to the Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, at the monarch’s palace.
The occasion carried clear political significance ahead of 2027.
Adeola, who represents Ogun West Senatorial District in the National Assembly, had emerged as the APC candidate for the governorship election and used the visit to pledge a stronger development focus on Egbaland if elected.
Adeola described the reception in Kemta as a “wake-up call”, saying the turnout showed that residents were ready to support his governorship ambition.
“If elected, I will make sure that the development goes round,” Adeola said at the time, according to Nigerian Tribune.
Princess Adejoke Somoye, one of the organisers of the homecoming, was also quoted as saying that Adeola’s mother was a native of Kemta and that this made the senator a Kemta son.
The latest report therefore represents a striking reversal in the public narrative surrounding the senator’s maternal heritage.
According to the report, disagreement within the Kemta Council of Chiefs escalated to the point where Chief Abayomi Rotimi was reportedly suspended as Oluwo of Kemta.
The same account claims that the Alake ordered the closure of the Ogboni House in an attempt to prevent further unrest.
Those claims, however, require caution. Searches of available reports did not produce an independent statement from the Alake’s palace, the Kemta Council of Chiefs, Chief Rotimi or Senator Adeola confirming the reported suspension and sealing.
What is established is that Kemta’s traditional institutions have previously experienced disputes involving chieftaincy authority.
In 2023, an Ogun State High Court judgment in a separate Kemta-related dispute restrained Chief Abayomi Rotimi, then identified as Oluwo Kemta and Baaye Egba, alongside other Ogbonis, from installing a Baale in Orile Kemta within the statutory territory of Oba Adetokunbo Tejuosho, the Olu Orile Kemta.
The earlier dispute illustrates the complicated relationship between traditional authority, chieftaincy structures and competing claims over jurisdiction in the wider Kemta area.
There is also a more recent legal dimension.
The Court of Appeal has upheld the status of Oba Adetokunbo Tejuosho as Olu of Kemta Orile and reportedly restrained the Ogun State Government from removing him from the position.
Against that background, the latest disagreement is emerging in an already sensitive traditional environment.
The timing is also politically significant. Adeola’s maternal identity has become increasingly prominent since his emergence as the APC’s 2027 governorship candidate.
His presentation to the Alake as a maternal kinsman from Kemta helped establish a stronger connection between the Ogun West senator and Egbaland, particularly Abeokuta and Ogun Central.
Adeola has consistently maintained that he has roots in Ogun West through Ilaro while also emphasising his maternal connection to Egbaland.
It was reported that the senator has described himself as a bona fide son of Egbaland through his maternal lineage and said he had maintained close ties with the area for more than two decades.
That dual connection could become politically important as the 2027 contest develops, particularly in a state where questions of community identity, ancestry and regional representation can carry considerable weight.
For now, however, the circumstances surrounding the reported closure of the Kemta Ogboni House remain unresolved.
The central questions are whether Chief Rotimi has formally been suspended, who ordered the reported closure, what specifically triggered the disagreement among the chiefs and whether the dispute represents a genuine traditional disagreement or has been intensified by the approaching political contest.
Until the relevant traditional authorities or the parties directly involved provide clarification, the claims surrounding the sealing of the Kemta Ogboni House and the reported suspension should be treated as allegations rather than established facts.
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What is clear is that a community that publicly embraced Adeola as a maternal son only weeks ago is now at the centre of a dispute over precisely that heritage, making the episode an important development to watch as Ogun State moves towards the 2027 election.
Dr. Steven Adesemoye is a Senior Lecturer in Mass Communication at Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH) and a contributor to Freelanews.com, writing on media, communication, education, and public affairs.
