*Dismisses protest by certain aggrieved persons

Omon-Julius Onabu ithe n Asaba

The traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku in Delta State, HRM Obi Ifechukwude Okonjo, has commended the people of the kingdom for demonstrating renewed unity and sense of commonality by turning out in unprecedented numbers during the just-concluded celebration of the community’s annual Ineh Festival, saying it was a testimonial of fledging harmony and peace in the land.

Obi Okonjo noted that it was the first time since 2007 that the people of Ogwashi-Uku would celebrate, without any division, a unified Ineh Festival peacefully and to do so harmoniously with the monarch.

“We thank God that for the first time since 2007 we didn’t have double calendar for the festival. And, we thank the people for their solidarity with the Obi”, he said.

He particularly thanked the people for coming out in their thousands aa tgey queued behind him when he led the jubilant procession on Thursday, the concluding day of the famous annual feast, which is similar to the Ofala Festival celebrated by the Igbo communities across the River Niger.

Speaking through his Personal Assistant, Prince Onyeama Okonjo, who briefed newsmen on Friday at the Palace of the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku, the royal father said that a section of the community had previously come up with another calender from the one issued by the Palace since 2007, suggestive of the extent of intra-community conflicts of the past.

On the protest to the Government House Asaba by somw aggrieved persons against his alleged high handedness, the monarch described the exercise as a charade, and not indicating that the Ogwashi-Uku people were not solidly behind their roual father.

Obi Okonjo said that it was ridiculous that a handful of persons would go on a protest to the state government at the same time that thousands of their kit-and-kin were dancing and celebrating with their king the succesful conclusion of a historic Ineh Festival in Ogwashi-Uku in nearly two decades.

He said that it was unfortunate that the masterminds of what he called “a failed protest clearlyrejectedby the people” were actually individuals “facing serious criminal trials in court” in connection with their alleged involvement in certain activities in and around Ogwashi-Uku.

The Palace and Obi-in-Council remains law-abiding and not ready to trade words with such individuals because they constituted an infinitesimal fraction of Ogwashi-Uku people at home and the Diaspora, who were desirous of sustainable peace and progress in their ancestral land, the Obi said.

According to him, the fact the organisers of the so-called protest had hired more than 15 buses to convey people to the Government House Asaba but could load “only a two buses eventually” with less than 30 people bore eloquent testimony that the people of Ogwashi-Uku had rejected the those who obviously want to make the kingdom crises-ridden and unmanageable.

Obi Okonjo underscored the fact that he, as the traditional father of Ogwashi-Uku people and custodian of the people’s customs and traditions, including the unique land tenure system, would not do anything to undermine the Commission if Enquiry instituted by the Delta State Government in 2024 to resolve around land disputes within Ogwashi-Uku and neighbouring communities.

The traditional ruler wondered whether the said protest to the Government House Asaba was pre-emptive of the state government’s Commission of Enquiry or an attempt by the organisers to influence the yet-to-be-released white paper on the outcome of the investigation.

The same individuals who had appealed to Obi Dr Okonjo to take urgent steps to address the issue of land-grabbing around the Ogwashi-Uku Polytechnic when he ascended the throne in 2019, were the same people who rose up against the monarch after going to court and securing a judgement that reaffirmed that he had right to manage Ogwashi-Uku land in line with its land tenure system, Prince Onyeama Okonjo lamented.

“They came up with several frivolous and nonsensical allegations against the Obi, like the chain that the Obi had demanded for permission from the palace for access to their ancestral farmlands. How ridiculous! Who does that?!

“I will provide you copies of the letter that the spokesperson for the protesters, Adigwe Eluemunor wrote to the Obi asking the Obi to urgently intervene in the labd issue behind the Ogwashi-Uku Polytechnic. So that you can see that the Obi acted on their request and eventually got the court judgement.

“Also, we shall provide you, if you want, copies of the judgement that affirms the Obi’s right over Ogwashi-Uku land, that nullified the letter that Chieftaincy wrote, and which prompted the (state) attorney-general to go to Court and said the Obi is the person who manages Ogwashi-Uku land, or he is in charge. And, there is an order of Perpetual Injunction restraining the government from (tampering) with this right to manage Ogwashi-Uku land.”

Thursday’s protest to the Government House Asaba was led by Osamor Patrick Izu, President-General of Ogwashi-Uku Development Association and Sunday Adigwe Eluemuno, General Secretary of the group.

Senator Emmanuel Aguariavwodo, Senior Political Adviser to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, who spoke with protesters at the entrance of the Government House, assured the people of the commitment of the state government to peace in Ogwashi-Uku, thanking them for carrying out their protest peacefully.

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