Briga News Nigeria
Some heads of villages in Egbudu-Akah Kingdom, Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State have rejected the monarch installed by the state government, Augustine Okolie, alleging that he is not the appropriate person for the throne.
The government had, in May this year, installed Okolie as the Obi of Egbudu-Akah, a move the elders described as a violation of native laws and customs.
Rising from a meeting in the community on Friday, the village heads, including Moses Kelikuma, Augustine Elue, and Enemokwu Adigue, accused the state government of imposing Okolie on them, arguing that the government could not choose a king for them.
“The Delta State Government cannot choose a king for Egbudu-Akah. The recognition of Mr Augustine Okolie III without engaging the rightful custodians of our tradition is unacceptable,” they said in a statement shared with journalists after the meeting.
According to them, the only legitimate royal family in the community is the Umu-Illoh Royal Family, which installed Obi Solomon Ogwuagwu I after the death of the previous monarch, Obi Okolie I, in 2016.
They said the kingship dispute began in 2016 when Paul Okolie declared himself king, prompting a legal challenge at the Ogwashi-Uku High Court.
The aggrieved elders stated that despite the court case, the state government issued him a staff of office and gazetted his name as monarch.
The elders said that following Paul Okolie’s death in 2018, his son, Augustine, began to lay claim to the throne and was later recognised by the government without resolving the existing dispute.
According to them, several petitions sent to the state government on the matter were not attended to.
The elders argued that Egbudu-Akah had no king, as the monarch chosen by the Umu-Illoh family, Solomon Ogwuagwu I, had not been recognised by the government.
When contacted, the monarch said he had no response to the claims.
“There is nothing to respond to. My focus now is how to bring development to my kingdom, especially Egbudu-Akah Road,” he told Saturday PUNCH.
