Obi of Ukala Kingdom receives Staff of Office

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has presented Staff of office to the traditional ruler of Ukala Kingdom, Obi Clement Ifeanyichukwu Ejiofor, urging traditional rulers in the state to desist from unnecessary proliferation of Chieftaincy titles not rooted in the tradition and culture of the people.

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, represented by the Deputy Governor, Barrister Deacon Kingsley Otuaro, at the presentation of the staff of office to the Obi of Ukala Kingdom in Oshimili North Local Government Area, Obi Clement Ifeanyichukwu Ejiofor, noted that traditional rulers are the prescribed authority empowered by law to confer Chieftaincy titles on deserving persons, advising the leaders to exercise their powers with great caution in order not to give titles to persons with questionable characters.

The Deputy Governor observed that the emergence of Captain Clement Ejiofor as the Obi of Ukala kingdom is a product of popular choice to give the kingdom an eminently qualified personality to strengthen the throne.

Otuaro advised the Ukala monarch to avoid all forms of sectionalism, partiality, discrimination, and favouritism; adding that as the father of the people’s custom and tradition, he should make relentless efforts in sustaining peace and security in his domain.

Otuaro told Ukala indigenes not to shy away from their responsibilities to the monarch. He urged the people to cooperate with the royal father to facilitate rapid development of the community and shun political bickering and lack of cooperation which impedes progress.

The deputy governor stated that the state government is committed to ensuring even development across the state, noting that Ukala community will not be forgotten in the development plan of government.

Otuaro assured that the request of the community will be addressed by the government, particularly, the issue of the killer herdsmen and rehabilitation of the Ezi-Ukala Okwute road leading to Ebu.

The Deputy Governor, congratulating the traditional ruler, noted that the support from the people would encourage the government to actualize the avowed commitment to the people.

The Chairman of Oshimili North Local Government Council, Honourable Innocent Esewezie, disclosed that the Ukala kingdom had been without a traditional ruler over 20 years. He stated that the people were happy that the vacuum was being filled with the presentation of staff of office to the Obi of Ukala, Obi Clement Ejiofor.

Honourable Esewezie thanked Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for making the installation possible and urged the monarch to promote peace and unity in his kingdom.

Earlier in his address, the traditional ruler of Ukala kingdom, Obi Clement Ejiofor, read by a Youth Leader and Councilor representing the ward in the Oshimili North Legislative Arm, Honourable Lawrence Enyi, said he was crowned as the monarch on March 19, 2019 in line with the Ukala custom and tradition and promised to be a bridge builder between his people and government.

He promised to be the king of all sections of the kingdom and not segregate against anybody or community. He emphasised that the staff of office was not just a recognition by government but a responsibility to work in synergy with government to ensure that peace was maintained within his domain.

The Obi of Ukala disclosed that the people are already working  on a community self-help electricity project which had gulped millions of naira and has been hooked to the national grid but was yet to be powered because the Ukala Okwute phase of the project had been taken over by the federal government and would be completed soon.

He drew the attention of government to the occasional incursion of herdsmen into their bushes and destruction of their farmlands and the need to rehabilitate the Ezi-Ukala Okwute road leading to Ebu as the road had been in a deplorable condition and had made life difficult for the people.

The presentation was attended by a retinue of traditional rulers from Delta North, the member representing Oshimili North Constituency in the State House of Assembly, Honourable Pat Ajudua, and the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Ogbueshi Patrick Ukah, among others.