The Edo State House of Assembly has officially confirmed Prof. Roland Otaru as a member of the State Executive Council, despite a formal petition from a traditional ruler opposing his appointment.
Governor Monday Okpebholo had earlier, on August 8, 2025, nominated Prof. Otaru alongside Barrister Nosa Adams, Yakubu Oshiorenua Musa, Felix Akhabue, and Prof. Omorodion Ignatius Ikponmwosa as commissioners-designate. While the other nominees were screened and confirmed on August 20, Otaru’s confirmation was delayed due to his absence from the screening session. The Assembly did not publicly announce a rescheduled date for his appearance.
Following the nomination, HRH Luckman Momodu Odamah III, the traditional ruler of the Ikpeshi/Egbigere clan, submitted a petition to the Governor on August 29, urging the government to halt Otaru’s confirmation.
The monarch raised concerns over a longstanding legal and traditional dispute between himself and Otaru, which he claimed could compromise the integrity of the commissioner’s role.
In the petition, the royal father alleged that Prof. Otaru had consistently opposed his ascension to the throne following the death of his father, HRH Momodu Odamah II, in 2011. He stated that Otaru had served as legal counsel to the Akoko-Edo Traditional Council in multiple cases challenging his appointment as monarch—cases that spanned the High Court, Court of Appeal, and are now pending at the Supreme Court.
The petition further detailed Otaru’s alleged involvement in promoting an alternative candidate, Chief Joseph Shuru Uduagbamen, from the Emegbe family of Igun kindred, in an attempt to overturn the official chieftaincy declaration. Although the High Court dismissed the suit in March 2022, the matter remains active at the appellate level.
HRH Odamah III argued that Otaru’s confirmation as commissioner places him in a position of influence over matters in which he is personally and legally entangled, potentially undermining the state’s official stance on the chieftaincy declaration.
He emphasized that his petition was not only to highlight the conflict of interest but also to ensure that traditional appointments in Edo State adhere strictly to the legal framework established by government gazettes.
Despite these concerns, the Assembly proceeded with Otaru’s confirmation, signaling a complex intersection of political appointments and traditional leadership disputes in the state.