By Innocent Anaba, LAGOS

The Akinsanya Olojo-Kosoko Ruling House has appealed to Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to approve the confirmation and installation of Prince Abiola Kosoko as the Oloja-elect of Lagos. 

In a letter dated December 5, 2025, and addressed to the governor, the descendants of King Kosoko, the 10th king and first Oloja of Lagos, expressed frustration over what they described as a four-year delay since the selection of their candidate.

They stressed that Prince Kosoko was duly declared elected on December 12, 2020, after what they described as an exhaustive screening process conducted in line with extant laws and traditional practices. The Oloja of Lagos stool became vacant following the death of  Adebola Ige on December 23, 2017.

According to the letter, at the conclusion of a report by a 16-man committee, the King Kosoko Royal/Oloja of Lagos Chieftaincy Family formally directed the Akinsanya Ruling House, next in the rotational order, to present candidates for the stool. The letter stated that the nominated candidates were Prince Abiola Kosoko, the late Prince Shola Olojo-Kosoko, Prince Issa Aregbesola, and Mr Abiola Arowomashodu of the Odunsi Ruling House.

“The kingmakers, following their deliberations, unanimously concluded that Prince Kosoko was the most suitable candidate for the vacant stool.

“This led to his declaration as Oloja-elect just five days later, in line with the Lagos State Obas and Chiefs Law and guided by the Registered Declaration of 1983,” the family said.

The ruling house maintained that the 1983 Registered Declaration remains valid and subsisting, insisting that neither a judgment of the Lagos State High Court delivered by Justice Obadina nor a subsequent judgment of the Court of Appeal nullified it.

The family, therefore, urged the state government to address the prolonged delay and to halt what it described as plans to impose a candidate outside the provisions of the 1983 Registered Declaration.