Ologbotsere To Buhari: I Know You’ll Not Be Part Of Illegality, There’s No Olu Of Warri Designate Yet

The Ologbotsere of Warri Kingdom, Chief Ayirimi Emami and chairman of Warri Council of Chiefs, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari would not support illegality surrounding the purported announcement of the passage of the 20th Olu and subsequent announcement of a successor.

Emami said that it was foolery for anyone to drop the name of President Buhari in the crisis bedeviling Itsekiri nation, saying that Buhari will not be party to illegality as he is a law-abiding citizen.

Emami said that he neither conveyed a General Assembly of the Itsekiri nation at Ode-Itsekiri, ancestral home of the Itsekiri people to announce the purported demise of Olu, His Royal Majesty Ogiame Ikenwoli, nor conveyed a meeting to name his successor as stipulated by the 1979 Edicts governing the Olu throne.

He declared that the Itsekiri nation would not allow meddlesome interlopers change their tradition overnight or railroad them into going against the gods and ancestors of the land in a desperation to control the throne.

Specifically, he told President Buhari that processes and procedures for the enthronement of a successor to the throne were still ongoing, declaring that anyone parading Prince Utieyinoritsetsola Emiko, son of the late Ogiame Atuwatse II as Olu-designate, have no clue about the customary laws, norm and tradition of the Iwereland.

The statement reads; “My attention has just be drawn to a publication credited to Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President, (Media and Publicity) entitled; “President Buhari Greets Itsekiri Nation on Olu-Designate, Mourn Departed Monarch” on Tuesday.

“And I want to state categorically clear as before that Olu of Warri, His Royal Majesty Ogiame Ikenwoli, has not joined his ancestor as being alleged. I have not convey any General Assembly of the people as tradition demands to state the contrary. So if His Royal Majesty Ogiame Ikenwoli has not joined his ancestor, where does Olu-Designate evolve from.

“Mr. President that I know will not delve into the customary issue of any ethnic group moreso when there appears to be unsettled customary discrepancies and contentions. President Muhammadu Buhari that I know does not involve in illegality. It has not come to when he will formally join the rest of the world to mourn and congratulate us.

“Anyone who want to use President Buhari’s name to draw ethnic and political colouration to the Olu throne issue should be wary of the danger of such actions. We are Itsekiri people and not any other tribe. We will not allow outsiders to come and dictate for us. We have our customs and traditions and the Nigerian constitution evolves from the peoples’ norm, values and tradition.

“I will formally issue a statement on this and will formally brief Mr. President on our tradition in a later date”, he said.