Osun Decides: Owa Haastrup Calls for Calm; Pardons Fadahunsi

With last Saturday’s Osun State Governorship election concluded and a winner declared, the Owa Obokun Adimula and paramount ruler of Ijesaland, Owa Clement Adesuyi Haastrup, Ajimoko III, has appealed to  winners to be magnanimous in victory, and losers to accept defeat in good faith.

The passionate plea was contained in a statement issued, on Sunday, on behalf of the Palace of Owa Obokun Adimula by the Chief of Staff to the paramount ruler, Lady Dupe Ajayi Gbadebo.

Equally significant, the Palace also stated unequivocally that Owa Haastrup has pardoned the senator representing Ilesa East Senatorial District, Senator Francis Ade Fadahunsi, for what it described as the politician’s “highly provocative and unfortunate statements” prior to Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Osun State.

“We must look past the highly provocative and unfortunate statements attributed to Senator Fadahunsi prior to the polls,” the Palace said in the statement. “They were undoubtedly spoken out of  intense moment as the campaign was coming to an end. We must not allow the human frailty of a tense political season to overshadow his lifetime of impactful service and positive use of influence for our people.”

Below is the full text of the press statement:

Following the conclusion of the election of yesterday (Saturday, August 15, 2026) and the unsettling reports of the unrest that have reached the Palace, His Imperial Majesty, Owa Clement Adesuyi Haastrup, Ajimoko III, Owa Obokun Adimula and the Paramount Ruler of Ijesaland, issues this fatherly appeal to all sons, daughters, and residents of our historic land.

At this critical juncture, the Palace maintains its sacred duty of absolute political neutrality, standing as a protective umbrella for all Ijesa people regardless of their political leanings or party affiliations.

The political contest of yesterday has come and gone, and the results have been declared. His Imperial Majesty appeals to every citizen to accept the outcome in good faith, recognising it as the ultimate will of Almighty God for this season.

The Palace pleads to the winners to show immense humility in victory and the loser to demonstrate true spirit of sportsmanship.

We are first and foremost, Ijesa people, bound by blood and shared destiny before we are members of any political party.

His Imperial Majesty appeals to all aggrieved individuals and jubilant groups to sheath their swords, halt all forms of hostilities, and allow the law to take its course through the appropriate security agencies.

We must look past the highly provocative and unfortunate statements attributed to Senator Fadahunsi prior to the polls. They were undoubtedly spoken out of  intense moment as the campaign was coming to an end. We must not allow the human frailty of a tense political season to overshadow his lifetime of impactful service and positive use of influence for our people. Most notably, Senator Fadahunsi has single-handedly conceptualised and  heavily funded the proposed Obokun University – a monumental legacy project that will bring immense intellectual growth to the entire Ijesaland.

True royalty and greatness lie in forgiveness, and the Palace appeals to everyone to let peace reign.

Looking ahead, we must remember that greater national task awaits us in the presidential election of next January. Since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been warmly adopted as the preferred candidate by both major political parties, his adoption stands as a beautiful symbol of unity that transcends our local partisan politics.