BEVERLY HILLS, April 21, (THEWILL) – The Delta State Government on Tuesday denied knowledge of the death of the 20th Olu of Warri, His Majesty, Ogiame Ikenwoli.
The government said it had not been officially informed.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu, said, “Each community in Delta State has laid down rules/tradition and ruling houses; so Itsekiri will not be different.”
Aniagwu said the state government had not been informed that the Olu of Warri had passed on.
He said: “For us, we are not aware that Olu of Warri has died. To us, there’s no controversy because we were not informed. The issue of the Olu of Warri is the same thing to all the communities.
“When a king dies, the community will write to the government, which will do all that is necessary for the purpose of smooth transition. It is not entirely the issue of once the father dies, the son takes over.”
Anaigwu said he was not aware of the controversies in Itsekiriland over the passage of the royal father
The government had maintained a deafening silence on the crisis surrounding the emergence of a new monarch.
By tradition, the Ologbotsere of the Warri Kingdom, Chief Ayirimi Emami, is empowered to announce the passage of the Olu.
He had dismissed the announcement of the passage of the Olu and subsequent announcement of a successor by the Iyatsere of Warri Kingdom, Chief Johnson Atserunleghe, following unsettled disagreement with the Ginuwa Ruling House.
READ ALSO: The Olu of Warri, Ikenwoli Godfrey Emiko, Is Dead
The Ginuwa Ruling House, led by the Olori-Ebi, Prince Emmanuel Okotie-Eboh, had suspended the Ologbotsere following the disagreement over the emergence of Prince Tsola Emiko as the Olu-designate.
The Ojoye-Isan, the apex body of traditional titleholders in the kingdom, led by the Ologbotsere, had also disqualified Prince Tsola, relying on Article 4 of the law guiding the stool, which bars princes, except those born by Bini or Itsekiri mothers, from the throne.
However, following these controversies, THEWILL learnt that the emergence of the Olu-designate without the Ologbotsere had made the state government not to acknowledge the Omoba.
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