Members of the Akinsanya Olojo-Kosoko ruling house, part of the King Kosoko Royal/Oloja of Lagos Chieftaincy family, have called on the Lagos State Government and relevant traditional authorities to intervene in the ongoing delay regarding the installation of the Oba-Elect of the Oloja of Lagos.

In a letter dated December 8 and obtained by PUNCH Metro on Sunday, the family expressed concern that this esteemed traditional position has remained vacant for over seven years following the death of the last occupant, Chief Adebola Idris Disu Ige, on December 23, 2017.

The letter, signed by Surajudeen Abiodun Olojo-Kosoko, Head of the Family, and Prince Theophitous Olojo-Kosoko, General Secretary, urgently requests intervention from the relevant authorities regarding chieftaincy affairs in Lagos State. It references an earlier correspondence sent on November 28, 2025.

According to the family, after a 16-member committee submitted a report, the King Kosoko Royal/Oloja of Lagos Chieftaincy Family invited the Akinsanya ruling house to present candidates according to established traditions. They noted that the Akinsanya ruling house was formally requested to present candidates for traditional interactions with the kingmakers at the Kosoko Palace on October 7, 2020.

An official letter from the Lagos Island Local Government, dated June 24, 2021, and issued on the instruction of the Oba of Lagos, outlined the necessary traditional steps to fill vacant white-cap stools, including that of the Oloja of Lagos. 

The family explained that a transparent screening process was conducted, allowing interested princes, including Prince Abiola Olojo-Kosoko, to obtain forms from the palace secretariat. Four candidates were ultimately screened and interviewed by the kingmakers: Abiola Kosoko, Prince Shola Olojo-Kosoko (who is now deceased), Issa Adeyemi Aregbesola, and Abiola Yakubu Arowomashodu from the Odunsi ruling house. 

Following this process, the kingmakers declared Abiola Kosoko as the most suitable candidate for the vacant stool. He was officially declared elected on December 12, 2020, in accordance with the Lagos State Obas and Chiefs Law, which is guided by the Registered Declaration of 1983, still valid today.

The family emphasized that judgments from the Lagos State High Court and the Court of Appeal did not invalidate the 1983 Registered Declaration governing the succession process. However, despite submitting formal letters to state authorities on September 26, 2023, and February 20, 2024, the family expressed disappointment that approval for the installation has yet to be granted.

“We have waited for years in the hope that the installation approval would be issued and officially communicated to the family,” the letter stated. The family reaffirmed their entitlement, emphasizing that only descendants of King Kosoko, the 10th King of Lagos and the first Oloja of Lagos, are eligible for the stool. They also noted that the Akinsanya Olojo-Kosoko family is a recognized chieftaincy family within the Akaregbere class.