By Sunday Apah/Ughelli
Chairman of the group, Chief Igho Osiebe, Adviser, Mr. Osumiri Ete, Publicity Secretary, Mr. Joe Eharisi-Ayomah and Chief Lucky Emojeya in similar statements also commended the leadership of Kokori community for the initiative and promise to extend its workings to all Kokori youths to nip violence in the bud and work for the unity of the community.
The chairman expressed pain that they could not move freely in the community they were born as a result of crises, adding that the group took up the challenge to step into the issue since they don’t have any other home apart from Kokori, and called on the six subclans to look deeply into the remote cause of the crises and find lasting solution to it.
Responding to the plea by Kokori community, the Ovie of Agbon kingdom, Ogurime-Rime, Ukori 1, Mike Omeru, commended the Orosue of Kokori community and his chiefs for taking the bold step of peace, adding that he heard some persons were behind the crises but that he prayed that God would give them a change of heart.
The monarch said, “When I compare what is happening with what is reported in the newspapers, it proves there are some people out there that do not want peace in Kokori community. But by his grace, we will surmount it someday, no matter the intensity of the storm.”
Narrating the genesis of the crisis, the monarch said: “The insecurity problem in Kokori had been before I was crowned king. It started last year, in 2012 when government called on leadership of Kokori community and asked that they produce the youths creating violence before it grows to get the attention of the federal government.
“Precisely on April 22, 2013, the Delta State Commissioner for Police invited me to Asaba because of the security problem in Kokori, that I should present the youths causing problem in the area. I however told the commissioner that my kingdom covers six subclans of Agbon and that I was not only king of Kokori, and he apologized.
“For the period the crises lasted, I did my best with my influence to ensure there was no unnecessary molestation of persons in the community.
“I have no hand in what happened in Kokori, it was wrong representation by some community and national dailies that caused some of the problem because it was from when I was confirmed king that one of the community papers started publishing false representation about the kingship and how it went.
“When we were contesting the Kingship position, it was one of the community reporters that were used to circulate petitions for my co-contestants and when l called him and asked why, he said he was asked to help distribute them.
“The last I read of him was that the women of Kokori said I am not the one that constructed the Kokori-Eku road and the ring road was given out by Shell to Niger-Cat and state government gave some to Niger-Cat and all these were done while am the Chairman of the Board of Niger-Cat Construction Company.
“The truth is that if I was not the chairman of Niger-Cat, those roads wouldn’t have been possible and l want to state here that during my election to the kingship throne in Kokori, out of the 30 votes cast, 18 voted for me which qualified me for the next round before Agbon Council of Chiefs final election of six subclans, where out of 48 persons, 43 voted for me which is an indication that my ascending the throne follows due process.”