Ogulagha community Chiefs, leaders fault claims against Monarch

The leaders and Chiefs of Ogulagha Community, have dismissed allegations made by some youths of the community against the Paramount Ruler of Ogulagha Kingdom, HRM, Elder (Capt.) King Joseph Timiyan JP.

It will be recalled that youths of the community had on Wednesday August 1 accused their traditional ruler, HRM, Elder (Capt.) King Joseph Timiyan JP, of shortchanging the community, being responsible for the death of a member of the community and withdrew from his ruler-ship.

But in a press release issued Thursday August 2 and signed by Chief Prefugha Karawei JP, Chief Peter Tuasinde, Chief Samuel Timiyan JP, Chief Anoruse F. Macdonald, Chief John Diegbegha, Chief William Borme and others, the leaders of Ogulagha community dismissed the allegations and expressed utmost displeasure over the unguided statement by few uninformed youths of Ogulagha Community.

The leaders also urged all Sons and Daughters of Ogulagha Community and the entire Kingdom to support the efforts being made by the Monarch to attract the Federal and State Governments and relevant Agencies to provide social amenities and infrastructural developments for the various Communities in the Kingdom.

SEE FULL LETTER BELLOW:

His Excellency,
Dr. Senator Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa,
Executive Governor,
Government House,
Asaba,
Delta State.

2nd August, 2018

RE: DELTA COMMUNITY DISOWNS HER MONARCH

RENUNCIATION OF THE PUBLICATION PURPORTEDLY MADE BY THE OGULAGHA COMMUNITY AGAINST THE PERSON OF HRM, ELDER (CAPT.) KING JOSEPH TIMIYAN, THE TRADITIONAL RULER OF OGULAGHA KINGDOM ON WEDNESDAY, 1ST OF AUGUST, 2018. 

We, the Traditional Chiefs of the Ogulagha Community extraction, Leaders, Members of the Ogulagha Community Caretaker Committee and the generality of the natives of Ogulagha Community except those who are tending to be lawless hereby express our utmost disappointment and displeasure over the unguided statement and protest/demonstration  purportedly made and carried out by the Ogulagha Community to reject the person of HRM, Elder (Capt.) King Joseph Timiyan as our King AND HEREBY renunciate the said statement issued by his subjects  and appeal to HRM, Elder (Capt.) King Joseph Timiyan to treat the statement as unfounded and hereby ask for forgiveness.

We state that the said statement did not emanate at the instance of the generality of the people of Ogulagha Community; rather it was published by some subjects tending to be lawless with no knowledge of the Native Laws and Customs as it relates to the Traditional Institution of the Ogulagha Kingdom. 

As custodians of the Native Laws and Customs of the Ogulagha people, it is sacrilegious for this category of subjects to issue such a statement to the public purportedly on behalf of the Ogulagha Community. We apologize to your exalted office on behalf of these subjects who purportedly carried out the protest in the name of Ogulagha Community. 

We state that the Ogulagha Community is part and parcel of the Ogulagha Kingdom and therefore under the leadership of HRM, Elder (Capt.) King Joseph Timiyan who is the Traditional Ruler with authority to exercise powers over the entire Kingdom. 

The Ogulagha Kingdom is made up of several communities comprising of Obotobo I and II communities, Sokebolou, Yokiri, Ogulagha, Obuguru, Youbebe, Okuntu, Osain, Abarabebe, Saghagbene, Sokegbene, Asisaghagbene and numerous villages and camps.

These communities, villages and camps constitute the Ogulagha Kingdom of which Ogulagha Community is one of the Communities. It is unimaginable for anybody to state as presently done by some subjects purportedly on behalf of the Ogulagha Community that they disassociate themselves from the Rulership of our King while still being a part of the Ogulagha Kingdom. 

We also state that the allegations raised in the unguided publication are untrue and are merely written to impeach the exalted integrity of our beloved King by selfish individuals who have lost sense of good judgment. 

Our King is not a tyrant. He is a King with High integrity, open minded and democratic in every sense of the word as he does everything in line with laid down administrative procedure and in accordance with the Native Law and Custom of the Ogulagha Kingdom people. 

He is a King that has brought peace and prosperity to the people and in the Kingdom. Our King does not abhor evil and corruption. That is why the publishers of the statement who are mostly misguided subjects who indulge in corrupt and evil practices in the Kingdom see the King as an impediment in their plans to commit evil. Of course, no responsible King will allow evil, corruption and criminality to strive in his Kingdom. 

The publishers of the statement are part of those who burnt down several houses in Ogulagha community on Wednesday 18/7/2018 and Thursday 19/7/2018 on the wrong premises that the Community erstwhile Chairman, Capt. Solomon Prebor died. The erstwhile Chairman died in a motor accident on Wednesday, 18/7/2018 along Sapele/Benin Road. He was not killed by our King and/or the Chiefs or by any other person. If He was ever killed by any person our King will definitely take up the matter and seek for justice in his capacity as father of the Kingdom. 

We all must know that the life of any man is in the hands of God because death is inevitable to every man. We state that the reign of our King has not led to killings of Sons, Daughters, Fathers and Mothers of Ogulagha Community as wrongly insinuated by the protesters; rather his reign has brought peace, security and good health of mind and body to the people. 

The erstwhile Chairman, Capt. Solomon Prebor and his Executive Committee Members were removed from office on Wednesday 11th day of July, 2018 by the Ogulagha Community by asking them to step aside together with other persons pending the outcome of investigation due to gross financial misconduct, misappropriation of Community funds and for refusing to account for over N1,000,000,000.00 (One Billion Naira) only paid by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited,(SPDC) to the Ogulagha Community through them. It is these persons and their cohorts that burnt down the houses and other properties of those they perceived as their enemies in the Community for asking them to step aside from office. 

These groups of persons further organized and coerced and forced some youths and elders to accompany them in their violent protest/demonstration against our King. These groups of persons also forced some elders and youths to make statements and sign the publication without their consent. 

The publishers of these defamatory statements against our King are subjects that are either misguided or forced and are persons who are not conversant with the Native Law and Custom of the people bent on perpetrating injustice. The Law Enforcement Agencies are already in search of them for the acts of burning down houses and other properties and this protest/demonstration being masterminded by them is a tactics to distract the Law Enforcement Agencies to carry out their duties of searching for them. The perpetrators of this criminal act perceive our King as the person who has informed the Law Enforcement Agencies about their criminal acts leading to the arrest of some of them already and hence the unguided protest. 

We hereby call on all relevant authorities and persons and indeed every Nigerian to treat the publication as misguided and perpetrated by misguided subjects and should be ignored. 

We as the representatives of the generality of the people of Ogulagha Community hereby renounce the statement/publication/protest made on Wednesday, 1st of August, 2018 and state unequivocally that our King; HRM, Elder (Capt.) Joseph Timiyan remain and will continue to remain the Traditional Ruler of Ogulagha Kingdom until the end of time. The position of the publishers purporting to represent the Ogulagha Community is false and should be ignored. 

We sincerely hope and believe that our amiable King will temper justice with mercy and forgive those of his subjects who protested for whatever they have said or done against him because they remain his subjects and he is a father to all Sons and Daughters of Ogulagha Kingdom and it will remain so. 

It is our commitment to continue to support and collaborate with our King, the Delta State Government ably led by our amiable Governor, Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa and relevant agencies to sustain peace and bring development to Ogulagha Community and the Kingdom at large. 

We urge all Sons and Daughters of Ogulagha Community and the entire Kingdom to support the efforts being made by our King to attract the Federal and State Governments and relevant Agencies to provide social amenities and infrastructural developments for the various Communities in the Kingdom. 

We wish to inform all authorities including the Government and people of Delta State and beyond, operating companies within the Ogulagha Kingdom and beyond and indeed all persons to ignore and treat the said publication as baseless and mischievous.

The kingship of Ogulagha kingdom is rotational among the three Ruling Houses in Ogulagha kingdom, namely; Sokebolou, Obotobo, and Ogulagha.

The present King; HRM, Elder (Capt.) Joseph Timiyan, is of the Obotobo Ruling House and rules over the entire Ogulagha kingdom.

Very importantly, we want to condemn the total falsehood that our Monarch has hijacked the functions of Ogulagha community executives including negotiations with companies operating in the community.

For record purpose, all negotiations and dealings were being done by the duly constituted Board of the Global Memorandum of Understanding GMOU, who are saddled with the sole responsibility to negotiate, implement and manage the GMOU funds and other entitlements accruing to the community, therefore; it is very wrong to accuse the Monarch unjustly.

LONG LIVE OGULAGHA COMMUNITY; 

LONG LIVE HRM, ELDER (CAPT.) JOSEPH TIMIYAN OF OGULAGHA KINGDOM; 

LONG LIVE BURUTU LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCIL; 

LONG LIVE DELTA STATE 

LONG LIVE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA. 

Copy:             

1. Secretary to State Government
2.Commissioner of Police, Asaba
3.Commander, 3 Battalion, Effurun
4.JTF Commander, Warri
5.Sector 1 Commander
6.Area Commander, Warri
7. DSS, Asaba
8. Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs
9. DPO Burutu
10. SPDC

×