The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, still loves his queen, Prophetess Naomi Silekunola, the palace said on Thursday evening.

It said he was packaging a special gift for her, noting that separation is a two-way affair.

Palace spokesman, Chief Moses Olafare, said “Separation is a two-way affair.

“It is not something that is announced by one party.

“The announcement of separation is subject to an agreement by both parties, so, to that extent, the palace is not aware of such separation because we all went to bed last night having the king and queen being together.

“So, if by this morning, the queen went to her social media to write that she is no longer in marriage with Ooni, we will look into it to see whether or not the Instagram page truly belongs to her, and to know the reason behind it.

“But as of today, this moment, the palace is not aware of the separation.

“Marriage is a private affair. No matter how prominent the personalities involved, it is a private affair.

“We will dig deeper and know what happened but as I said, all of us just woke up to read about the separation on social media.

“Even by this time yesterday (Wednesday), Kabiyesi was still packaging a special gift for her.

“If you want to separate with someone, you cannot be packaging a gift for her.

“I am aware that Kabiyesi was putting special gifts for her for Christmas.

“If he is not in love with her, he cannot be doing that, only to wake up the following morning to hear from the public that she is no longer in the relationship.

“The Christmas gift has been delivered to her already.”

Prophetess Silekunola, in a statement posted on her verified Instagram handle @queen_silekunolanaomi_ogunwusi on Thursday morning, said she should no longer be addressed as the Queen of Ile-Ife but as the Queen of the people.

She said: “Let it be known that this decision to move on did not come because his majesty is married to another queen.

“As many would love to assume, throughout our life as a couple, I was the only married wife to him. There were side attractions, but it was never an issue.

“I never approached him with any revelation of any sort, as many believed he contacted me first and made his proposal known several months later.

“The marriage was not an arranged one, as many have misconstrued. I never knew the prophetess said to have introduced me to him.

“Instead, he introduced her to me after I agreed to marry him. I was only being polite out of respect for him.

“I have never been pregnant all my life before Tadenikawo; my son is my first ever pregnancy with medical reports to back it up.

“The girl who is said to be my daughter is my niece.

“I did my best to endure and make it work; many times, I smiled through the struggle, but I have finally realised I had just one assignment, my son, and when God is done, He is done.

“He chose Saul to be king, and when He was done, He told the prophet Samuel I have moved on.

“Religion was never an issue between us; please refer to my interview on News Central TV.

“Instead, His Majesty has a picture he would love the world to see and perceive him as and another one which is his true self.

“Today I announce the beginning of a new dawn and the close of a chapter.

“Today, I am a mother to God’s unique gift. I am no longer a slave to my thoughts of perfection.

“I, at this moment, announce that I shall no longer be referred to as wife to the Ooni of Ife or as Queen of Ile-Ife but as the Queen of the people and mother of my adorable Prince.

“He is God’s way of saying I know about it all. In situations like this, there will be aggrieved persons.

“I, at this moment, appeal to all parties involved to allow the peace of God with the consciousness that there is a lovely little boy between us. I thank all of my prayer partners and loved ones.

“I remain committed to all of my projects, charity work and ministry. In this new season, I shall be focusing on God only.”

TodayNG