Controversy Trails Announcement Of New Olu Of Warri – Designate

BEVERLY HILLS, September 20, (THEWILL)  – Controversy seems to be trailing Saturday's announcement of new Olu of Warri-designate by the Itsekiri Council of Chiefs with a Prince of the Emiko ruling house said to have been denied the throne 28 years ago chosen to succeed the late Ogiame Atuwatse II.

Prince Godfrey Ikenwoli Emiko, younger brother of Ogiame Atuwatse II, was named as the choice of the ancestor against the earlier expectations that the son of the late Olu, Prince Tsola Emiko, who was reportedly disqualified on the ground of his maternal lineage would be the new monarch.

THEWILL gathered that the new Olu of Warri designate, Prince Ikenwoli Emiko, who was born March 19, 1965 was the original choice of his father, the late Erejuwa II , to succeed him when the late Ogiame Atuwatse II was controversially crowned 28 years ago.

Impeccable sources said that the Itsekiri Traditional Ancestry had insisted on Prince Ikenwoli Emiko to ascend the throne of the Olu of Warri in order for the Kingdom to experience the much needed peace, unity and development.

Although, a source said that the son of the late Olu, Prince Tsola Emiko, has been under intense pressure to challenge the decision of the Itsekiri kingmakers, the Itsekiri source said that the naming of the late Olu’s younger sibling was the right thing to do 28 years ago.

“His (Prince Tsola) mother is not from the two tribes that can be the mother of Olu; only princes born of Itsekiri or Edo mothers are qualified,” the source said.

“The young prince is being inundated by people around him and those who are claiming to love him more than he loves himself. They want him to go to court to stop the process because they feel that it is his right to succeed his father.

“But from his body language and what he has said so far, he doesn't seem to be interested, because he has been telling everybody that he is bounded by the decision of his elders and leaders of the land,” the source added.

Notwithstanding the controversial issues surrounding the naming of the new Olu of Warri, the unveiling ceremony sparked wild jubilation at Ode-Itsekiri (Big Warri) in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State, Saturday when the Ojomo of Warri, Chief Yaya Pessu, formally unveiled the new monarch.

Sources said that prominent Traditional Chiefs of Warri Kingdom, including Chief Yaya Pessu and Chief Isaac Jemide were part of the team that consulted with the ancestors in the choice of the new monarch-designate.

Meanwhile, a 90-day mourning period from Saturday has been declared in Itsekiri land, signifying the formal announcement of the demise of former monarch.

Within the period, there would be no burial or marriage ceremonies, while all men and women of Itsekiri extraction are expected to tie their rapper upside down to pay their last respects to the late Ogiame Atuwatse II.