The Ondo State Government has begun the process of reviewing the Ajama Chieftaincy Declaration to accommodate ruling houses that were previously omitted from the document.

The declaration, which was signed into law by the late former governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, is currently under review by a committee chaired by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Amidu Takuro. Other members of the committee include Bode Akinyemi, Adesanya Adelana, Ade Akinbosade, and Oladele Adesanmi.

As part of the review, the Iseyemi-Aragbuwa Dynasty of Olekoyu submitted a formal memorandum seeking inclusion in the Ode-Erinje Chieftaincy Declaration. The family proposed that the amended declaration be renamed the “Akinlalu/Aragbuwa or Liseri Ruling House.”

Represented by their lawyer, Ayokanmi Akinbuluma, and led by the head of the Aragbuwa/Iseyemi Dynasty, Deacon Olowomuke Omosehin, the family presented their case before the Takuro-led committee, urging official recognition as one of the ruling houses eligible to produce the Orungberuwa of Ode-Erinje in Okitipupa Local Government Area.

The dynasty presented historical and oral evidence supporting their claim to the throne, arguing that their lineage has the hereditary right to produce the town’s monarch.

According to the family, the Akinlalu line derived its entitlement to the Orungberuwa stool through Odunye (the Liseri of Erinje) and her children—Lusote, Orolalatan, and Akinlalu.

They maintained that, for historical accuracy, fairness, and communal harmony, the committee should amend the chieftaincy declaration to merge the Iseyemi-Aragbuwa Dynasty with the current Akinlalu Ruling House, to be officially recognised as the Aragbuwa/Akinlalu (or Liseri) Ruling House of Orungberuwa.

The dynasty added that the descendants of Odunye—Lusote, Akinlalu, and Orolalatan—had all produced monarchs in the community, establishing a rotational succession pattern among them.

“The original concession to Akinlalu was situational, not permanent. It did not extinguish the claims of Lusote’s descendants. Therefore, it is inequitable for the current record to list only the Akinlalu Ruling House while excluding the Iseyemi-Aragbuwa descendants, who are equal heirs by blood and tradition,” the dynasty stated.

They further noted that the Liseri title in Erinje has traditionally alternated between the descendants of Iseyemi-Aragbuwa and Akinlalu, reflecting their shared royal heritage.