DELTA STATE IN CRISIS AS A MONARCH IN UDU LGA DECLARES OGHIOR COMMUNITY STRANGERS IN UDU KINGDOM

The people of Oghior Community in the Okporua Ruling House of Udu have taken strong exception to the declarations by the Ovie of Udu Kingdom, HRM Barr E.B.O Delekpe, Owhorhu 1 to the effect that the entire Oghior community people are strangers in Udu who are not entitled to any valid claim to legitimate ownership of landed property in the area.

In a press conference addressed by the Spokesman of Oghior Elite Forum, Olorogun Wisdom Ghaghara in reaction to a purported report from the meeting of the Udu Traditional Council which held on Friday April 30, 2021 where the Ovie reportedly declared that Oghior Community are strangers in Udu Kingdom, the Oghior Elite Forum, rising from their General Assembly disclosed during the press conference that Oghior has resolved to take their destiny in their hands with a vow to check the spiteful move of the Ovie to alter the historical identity of the Oghior people.

According to the spokesman, Oghior Community in self determination have decided to defend the community territorial integrity not minding the personal opinion of the Udu Monarch, noting that the panel of inquiries earlier set up to look into the land dispute between Oghior and Ukpiovwin Communities had given a final report on the matter which is at variance with the position of the Ovie on the matter.

He added that Oghior community took strong exception to insinuations from the Udu Traditional Council to the effect that Oghior Community, ‘’which all historical accounts confirmed to have predated Ukpiovwin Community in settling in Udu’’, was being classified as strangers by the Ovie and such cannot be accepted by the people, stressing that the Ovie was beating the drums of war which will not do the kingdom and the local government council any good.

The Spokesman declared that if Oghior were pushed to the wall and the Ovie is not called to order, the community will have no option than to declare own Kingdom outside Udu Kingdom.

Referring to a letter earlier addressed to the Governor of Delta State dated December 28, 2020, the spokesman declared that Oghior Community totally lost confidence in the Ovie, and the Local Government Chairman, Chief Jite Brown a long time ago over the delay in implementing the final report of the panel set up to look into the dispute between Oghior and Ukpiovwin, stressing that the recent pronouncement by the Ovie have lent credence to the fears of Oghior that the Ovie did not mean well for the people.

‘’We have labored hard to curtail the anger of the people. The provocative statement by the Ovie is a direct affront on the sensibilities of the Oghior Community. Every community has a history of migration and whoever thinks he fell from heaven without any migration background in Udu cannot be Udu in the first place. We appeal to governor Okowa to step into this matter and call the Ovie of Udu to order because we will not be responsible for any breach of the peace if the provocation continues. This is a direct invitation for war but we have chosen the path of peace because it is certain the attempt to rewrite the history of Udu by the Ovie cannot stand. We are all Udu and if the Ovie of Udu believes Oghior is not Udu, then we shall have no option but to declare a separate Kingdom from Udu’’, he added.

He disclosed that in another letter written by Counsel to Oghior Community, Barr Martin Awheyevu Mukoro dated April 14, 2021, the community had protested against further involvement of the Ovie of Udu as customary arbitrator in the matter between Oghior and their neighbor, Ukpiovwin because of the Ovie’s unilateral moves to jettison the report of the panel and impose his personal opinion on the matter as fully backed by the President General of Udu Community, Chief Godwin Notoma who is from Ukpiovwin and the Udu Local Government Council Chairman, Chief Jite Brown who is an in-law of Ukpiovwin Community just as the Ovie himself is also from Ukpiovwin.

‘’Such an obviously despotic move to breach natural justice in the matter was a direct invitation to chaos and anarchy. The situation is very tense now. Crisis looms in the air and only a timely intervention of the governor can save the situation. We want to warn all those behind the move to foist injustice on Udu to desist from their nefarious tendencies as Oghior will not fold their arms and watch a compromised Monarch stoke the embers of discord in the land. Udu is one. Oghior is Udu and anyone who thinks otherwise should leave the Udu land alone. Oghior will not concede one foot of her territory to anybody without due process’’, Chief Wisdom Ghaghara added.

”We are not unaware of the earlier boast by Chief Godwin Notoma that since the Ovie of Udu is from Ukpiovwin, the Council Chairman, Jite Brown is their son-in-law and with him as President General of Udu, Oghior Community is as good as finished.

‘’It is trite to note that the Ovie, because of his irresponsible ambition to make his family a royal family with exclusive right to produce the Ovie of Udu as against the rotational arrangement brokered by Udu leaders of old, the Ovie had branded almost 20 Udu Communities including Ovwian, Orhuwhorun, Ekete, Opete, Okpaka, Owhrode, Igbogidi etc as strangers. Based on this attitude of the Ovie, many Communities in Udu now want to be on their own instead of one king that will keep referring to them as strangers in their own land

‘’We appeal to His Excellency to intervene because as things stand, Udu is not at peace in the hands of the Ovie of Udu Kingdom. If things continue the way they are, Governor Okowa should be prepared to give  staff of office to different kingdoms in the future as a result of the irrational and unreasonable actions of the Ovie.

‘’We want to assure His Excellency that we are not ready to go to any war with our brothers from Ukpiovwin because of the actions of the Ovie. We have relationships that span several decades as the marital ties between both communities are very deep. We want peace though not at the expense of our territorial integrity’’, Olorogun Ghaghara declared.

Source our Correspondent : Marvins Script