President Bola Tinubu welcomed the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, to the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Friday, marking the monarch’s first official audience with the president since his coronation on April 12, 2025.
The meeting, held in the afternoon after the Jumaat prayers, took place shortly after President Tinubu’s closed-door briefing with the nation’s security chiefs and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
Recall that during the traditional coronation ceremony in Oyo town, President Tinubu, represented by Vice-President, Kashim Shettima, had urged the newly crowned monarch to “foster the unity of the Yoruba nation and strengthen the bonds holding Nigeria together.”
Oba Owoade’s ascension to the throne followed the passing of his predecessor, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, the 45th Alaafin of Oyo, who died on April 22, 2022, at the age of 83.
The new Alaafin was presented with the staff and instrument of office on January 13, 2025, at the Governor’s Office in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State.
Following his installation, Oba Owoade completed the mandatory 21-day traditional rites known as Oro Ipebi, concluding the ceremonial period on March 29, 2025.
The newly crowned Alaafin is 47 years old and hails from the distinguished Owoade-Agunloye royal family in Oyo Town. He is the son of Aremo Aderounmu Iyanda Owoade, Agure Compound, also in the ancient city of Oyo.
