*RE: THE FRAUDULENT PRESS STATEMENT OF ISAAC ITEBU, ROBERT ONOME, ET AL, THE IMPOSTORS WHO PRESENTED THE OKPE ETHNIC NATIONALITY AS URHOBO, ON THE 30TH OF JULY 2025.*

 

*- A TREASONABLE ACT AGAINST THE OKPE NATION.*

 

Greetings Nigerians, People of Delta State, the people of the Okpe Ethnic Nationality of Delta State, gentlemen and ladies of the Press. We are representatives of the National Executive Council of the Okpe Union (Worldwide) ably led by Prof. Igho Natufe, President General of the Okpe Union (Worldwide). The Okpe Union is the oldest registered Ethnic Union in Nigeria, having been established in 1930 and registered on the 13th of December, 1934 under the Land (Perpetual Succession) Ordinance No. 32 of 1924. It is the umbrella Socio-cultural Organisation of the indigenes of Sapele and Okpe Local Government Areas of Delta State.

 

It is important to outline from the very beginning of this Press Statement, that none of the organisers, signatories and attendees of the said Press Conference is qualified to speak on behalf of the Okpe people and Ethnic Nationality of Delta State.

 

*Firstly*, Chief Isaac Itebu who opted to contest for the position of 1stDeputy President General of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) perhaps on his being partly Urhobo, is not a member of any of the branches of the Okpe Union and does NOT hold any position in the Okpe Union. He, as 1st Deputy President General of the UPU, a different Ethnic Union, cannot speak on behalf of the Okpe Ethnic Nationality.

 

*Secondly*, for Chief Robert Onome who was elected on the 19th of November, 2016 as the President General of the Okpe Union for a four year tenure which elapsed in November, 2020, it is preposterous for him to allow himself to be sponsored to parade himself as President General of the Okpe Union, nearly five years after his tenure had expired and when he never re-contested. The _*”Residue of Tenure”*_ Ruling from the Delta State High Court, Orerokpe for him for a maximum of 47 Days from 14th of March, 2025, expired on the 30th of April, 2025. He reported to the same court and deposed to an Affidavit he signed on the 21st day of May, 2025 for Contempt against the legitimate leadership of the Okpe Union for the purpose of enabling him to continue parading himself, but the court threw away his contempt application. In the Affidavit, he had complained to the court that _*”I have made several attempts to call NEC Meeting and General Assembly of the Okpe Union but all to no avail.”*_ He shamelessly by that, revealed to the world, that majority of the Executive members of the Okpe Union under him between 2016 and 2020 had moved on and joined the leadership of Prof. Igho Natufe by re-contesting in the last election of the National Executive Council, which held on the 15th of May, 2025, after the General Secretary summoned the General Assembly of the union in accordance with its Constitution. Also on how illegitimate the claims of Chief Robert Onome are, on the 30th of April, 2024, the _*Federal High Court, Abuja (Suit No.FHC/ABJ/CS/395/2022)*_ had ordered the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to *_”withdraw and or expunge from its records all trustees appointed…”*_ by the Illegal Interim EXCO of the Okpe Union, including the Chief Robert Onome and others, as fraudulently smuggled in. That Chief Robert Onome has become an anathema in the Okpe Nation incapable of representing any part of it, talk more of speaking on behalf of her, the *Okpe People’s Forum (OPF)*, a body registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) which the Chief Robert Onome was a registered member, announced his suspension from the organisation through a circular dated the 3rd of August, 2025 after the report that he signed a Press Statement that Okpe was Urhobo.

 

*Thirdly*, for Mr. Harrison Ekeleme who purportedly signed on behalf of the leadership of the 13 Districts of Okpe Kingdom, we dare say that this is one of the most fraudulent political acts in Nigeria of recent. *Mr. Ekeleme had completed his tenure as President General of Amuokpe District of Sapele Local Government Area and handed over to his elected successor, Hon. Eruteyan Ohiambe on the 6th of April, 2025.* He, Mr. Harrison Ekeleme during his tenure which ended on the 6th of April, 2025, paraded himself as the Chairman of the Forum of Presidents General of the 13 Okpe Kingdom Districts apparently for political showmanship. _*How logical is it, for anyone to accept it that the same person who had handed over to his successor nearly four months ago, would still parade himself as the Chairman of an arranged Forum of Presidents General of the 13 Districts of Okpe Kingdom?*_ Is that not misrepresentation and fraud taken too far just for the sake of politics and blind loyalty to political hustlers?

 

The *fourth* signatory of the treasonable document is Mr. Moses Odiete, the President of the Okpe Youths Council. Suffice to say that after surviving temporary removal a few months after his inauguration, his act of bowing to political jobbers to sign the fraudulent Press Statement has now thrown the Okpe Youths Council into turmoil as the vast majority of members of the body have been up in arms against him since the unfortunate incidence. We hope the OYC is able to weather the storm from it.

 

The gist of the above paragraphs is that none of the organisers of the ITEBU and ONOME Press Conference and Press Statement, have the locus standi or qualification to speak for the Okpe Union and the Okpe Nation.

 

It is not surprising at all that at the venue of the Press Conference/Statement at Orerokpe, some Okpe chiefs who saw and heard how the organisers and signatories were rehearsing and reading out from the documents, confronted them and asked them what they thought they were doing. Chief Isaac Itebu was said to have immediately responded (with the others nodding in approval) that _*”it is politics we are playing. There is nothing here that is historical or on merit…”.*_ Indeed, much of the contents of their Press Statement did not deviate from this disgraceful response from the organisers. In one of the paragraphs of their ill-fated Press Statement, they stated as follows:

 

_*”Politically speaking, Urhobo Nation is now APC, with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Our Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff F.O. Oborevwori is now APC, in support of the re-election of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu come 2027 general elections. Any Okpe person calling for the separation of Okpe from Urhobo Nation is an enemy of Okpe Kingdom.”*_

 

Is it not criminal for anyone to publicly declare that the people of an Ethnic Nationality like Urhobo with about five or more exclusive Local Government Councils and some communities in other Local Government Areas, all now belong to one political party, in a multi-party democracy like Nigeria? They had argued that all Okpe people must now join Urhobo as a fused ethnicity, to belong to the APC to elect President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. And for these impostors to cheaply think of blackmailing patriotic Okpe leaders (including HRM, the Orodje), who insist on the distinct Ethnic Nationality status of the Okpe Nation and language, amounts to a treasonable felony against the Okpe Nation and Kingdom. It is even reported that their immediate target, going forward, is how to scuttle the teaching of the Okpe Language in the Primary and Junior Secondary Schools of the two Local Government Council areas of Okpeland. The declaration by the sellouts, that Okpe is NOT a language, but a dialect of the Urhobo Language, is a shocking affront on the work done by the Udogun Okpe Education Committee (first headed by *Prof. Sam Oyovbaire* and later the late *Prof. Emurobome Idolor*), the Okpe Union and several Okpe organisations and nationals all under the leadership of HRM, Orhue I, for the standardisation and development of the Okpe Language orthography which culminated in the recommendation of the Okpe Language for teaching at basic education levels in Okpeland, by the National Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), an agency under the Federal Ministry of Education. Since that recommendation and subsequent approval by the Delta State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, the teaching of the Okpe Language has begun in ALL the public Primary and Junior Secondary Schools of Sapele and Okpe Local Government Areas of Delta State. Only some private schools in the two Council Areas have however complied.

 

*TO THE ISSUES TOUCHED BY THE ITEBU AND ONOME PRESS CONFERENCE.*

 

We shall address the issues (for want of a better description) contained in the ITEBU AND ONOME Press Statement titled _*“Enough is Enough, Okpe is Urhobo.”*_

 

1. *Who is the Title of the Press Statement by the Impostors Directed to?*

 

Did the betrayers against Okpe Ethnic Identity and survival direct their poorly worded Press Statement to our Royal Father, Orhue I, Orodje of Okpe, who has defended the distinct ethnic status of Okpe from the very moment he was coronated? In the Keynote Address delivered on September 1, 2007, by HRM Orhue I, LL.M., CFR, mni., Orodje of Okpe Kingdom at the 3rd Annual Convention of the Okpẹ Union of North America, Held at Marriott Hotel, College Park, Maryland, MD. USA, his HRM said:

 

_*”Okpe is a unique ethnic nationality. It has distinctive roots in ancient history, tradition, culture, custom and language.”*_

 

HRM, Orhue I, went further to commend the then Dr. Igho Natufe who was the _*founding President of the Okpe Union of North America,*_ for the work he and his Executive had done. In the Orodje’s words:

 

*_“Your activities have helped tremendously to positively define, sustain and advance the place as well as the interest of Okpe in the comity of Nigerian nationalities.”*_

 

It is clear from the above that HRM, Orhue I is _*the number one advocate for the correction of the error which has lasted for several decades due to the wrong classification by the British Colonial Government of the Okpe Ethnic Nationality as Urhobo, for purely administrative reasons.*_ Indeed, this position has been maintained officially till date by HRM, Orhue I, save for social, cultural and political association with different groups and representatives of the areas which formed the Geopolitical Area designated by the Colonial Government as Urhobo with whom the Okpe Nation and Kingdom had been in alliance and political business, historically; which all responsible commentators understand to be the Urhobo Political Block and not from the perspective of ethnicity. The genuine leaders of Urhobo and other Ethnic nationalities in Delta State and Nigeria understand that HRM Orhue I, Orodje of Okpe, meant that Okpe is NOT under any other Ethnic Group by the phrase _*”… Okpe, in the comity of Nigerian nationalities”*_, in the quotation above.

 

The title *_”Enough is Enough…”*_ by the organisers and signatories of the Itebu and Onome Press Conference/Statement, is therefore one which is a product of infantile thought processes as all patriotic Okpe Nationals would firmly project, protect and defend the Okpe Ethnic Identity, distinct language and her heritage of independent cultural polity. It is not surprising therefore that notable Okpe personalities have come out with rejoinders that totally condemned the Itebu and Onome watery Press Statement.

 

2. *Okpe Union Commends Okpe Leaders, Academics and Okpe Nationals who sent Rejoinders to Condemn the Itebu-Onome Press Statement.*

 

It is not surprising to the National Executive Council of the Okpe Union (worldwide), that several Okpe leaders, academics and Okpe Nationals have published and sent several rejoinders to condemn and discredit the usurpers who dared to impugn the well-established position of the Okpe Nation as a distinct ethnicity and language which our revered monarch, HRM, Orhue I and those before him as well as all Okpe founding fathers always maintained, as outlined in the Keynote Address by the Orodje quoted earlier. We commend *Prof. Kenneth Efakponana Eni* of the Niger Delta University; *Prof. Evans Akpo*, former General Secretary, Okpe Union of North America and Asst. Dean and Lead of Doctor of Strategic Leadership Program, Wayland Baptist University, Plainview, TX, United States; *Dr. Charles Efe Okorodudu*; *Dr. Nathaniel Agbikimi*, Head of the Okpe Bible Translation Project of the Bible Society of Nigeria; *Rev. Frank Ekejija* (Founding Secretary, Okpe Union of North America); *Mr. Daniel Washi Ogodo;AVM (Rtd) Frank Ajobena* (former Military Administrator of Abia State and Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Okpe People’s Forum, OPF), *Elder Moses Akpobasa*, former Director General, Nigerian Ministry of Economic planning; and *Mr. Akporhene Peter Ukiri* (author of Okpe English Dictionary, Chapnik Ltd., 2019) for their rejoinders which trashed the junky Itebu-Onome Press Statement. There were indeed very many Okpe nationals who published rejoinders all of which condemned the Press Statement by the impersonators, describing it as _*“misguided”, “political chants”, “written to suit a political agenda”, “failed all tests for veracity”*, etc. They were unanimous in emphasising that the Okpe Nation is a distinct Ethnic Nationality and Language which is NOT under any other ethnic group in the world.

 

3. *The Events of Colonial Times as the Primary Source of the Misclassification of Okpe as Urhobo.*

 

The British Colonial Government of the Warri (later Delta) Province capriciously named and created areas of the then Warri Province which is a combination of today’s Delta Central and Delta South Senatorial District as well as the Ukuani Area of Delta North Senatorial District into Divisions. After describing the entire area of today’s Delta Central Senatorial District (Urhobo and Okpe ) and the Isoko Area of Delta South Senatorial District as *SOBO*, it created a *SOBO DIVISION* (with Urhobo and Isoko people together) with headquarters at Ughelli and the *JEKRI-SOBO DIVISION* (combining Okpe, Itsekiri, some Urhobos and some Ijaw territories together) with headquarters in Warri. Various British commentators of the Colonial Era acknowledged that the grouping of different peoples together was mainly for administrative convenience and not on ethnic basis.

 

The Okpe people of Sapele were however created as Sapele Municipal Council separate from any of the Divisions. The Colonial Government of the Warri Province also created Native Authorities which was a level of government closer to the grassroots. For the Okpe and the Urhobo areas nearest to Okpeland, the *Western Urhobo Native Authority* with headquarters at Orerokpe was created. This enhanced the solidarity between the Okpe leaders and Urhobo leaders of the areas closer to Okpeland with the political leadership of the area falling on the shoulders of the then head of the Okpe Nation and Kingdom, *Chief Ayomanor Evwida*, being the Chairman of the Udogun Okpe (Okpe Traditional Council) of the era. Contrary to some reports in some quarters, the meetings presided over by Chief Ayomanor Evwida, which involved Okpe and Urhobo people together, were meetings of the Western Urhobo Native Authority which was created by the Colonial Government of Warri Province. _*Chief Ayomanor was the President of the Western Urhobo Native Authority*_. Other meetings in which Chief Ayomanor Evwida presided over or played notable roles in, included joint meetings with UPU, Okpe Union and some leaders of Urhobo Division to plan for the Sapele land case and how to respond to the continued dominance or undue influence on the Government of Warri Province by the Itsekiri Paramount Ruler, Chief Dogho Numa (and later the Olu of Itsekiri/Warri, Ginuwa II) who were placed over other leaders of the province by the Colonial Government; and some other matters of mutual benefit to both the Okpe and the Urhobo people.

 

By late 1930s a serious dispute began between the Okpes and the Itsekiris because of the claim by the then Paramount leader of the Itsekiris, *Chief Dogho Numa*, that the Itsekiris owned Sapele. The Okpe leaders were therefore uncomfortable with going to Warri which had become enemy territory, to hold Jekri-Sobo Division Council meetings with Itsekiri leaders. This tension led to the Okpe people having two options in mind: _*to request for an Okpe Division or to request to be removed from the Jekri-Sobo Division and added to Sobo Division*_. They opted to commence with the latter as the Sapele Area which would form a part of the Okpe Division was being contested by the powerful Itsekiri leader who was very close to the Colonial Government. When the Sapele land case began in court, the Okpe people (represented by the Udogun Okpe and the Okpe Union) were supported by the people of all the other Divisions of Warri Province and especially the Urhobo people, fronted by the Urhobo Progress(ive) Union (UPU). After the victory of the Okpe people over the Itsekiris in the Sapele Land Case, the Okpe people formally requested again for the transfer of the Okpe territory to Sobo Division (later amended to Urhobo Division). By 1949, the Colonial Government transferred the Okpe area of the Jekri-Sobo Division as well as most Urhobo areas of the Division to the Urhobo Division with headquarters in Ughelli. The Urhobo Division from 1949 now had the Urhobos, the Okpes and the Isokos in one Division. Around 1952, the Urhobo Division was divided into Eastern Urhobo Distict and Western Urhobo District with headquarters at Ughelli and Orerokpe respectively.

 

By 1953/1954, as some level of regional autonomy was granted to the regions of Nigeria, _*the Okpe people, supported by HRM, Esezi II, Orodje of Okpe, wrote through the Okpe Union, to the Western Regional Government in Ibadan under the leadership of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, demanding that the Okpe area of the Urhobo Division be joined with Sapele Municipal Council area to form a separate Okpe Division from the Urhobo Division*_. Though the request was not granted, it made Urhobo leaders then to appreciate that the Okpe people were not prepared to mortgage their distinct ethnic identity. That gave rise to the understanding that Okpe leaders of the Colonial Era took the term Urhobo to have two meanings. The first is a Geopolitical Union of the area that the Colonial Government designated or classified as *”Sobo”*, a corruption of the word Urhobo; while the second meaning is the people of the Urhobo Language and Ethnicity. This second meaning did not include Okpe people. Okpe people, even before Colonial times, had referred to the *Urhobo* People as *ISIẸHO* or *AGBADO*. Similarly, the Okpe people called *Itsekiri* people as *IRHOBO*, the *Ijaws* as *IHWO*, and the *Binis* as *AKA*. This is sufficient to determine that the Okpe people had never at any point in their history identified as Urhobo. How Okpe described concepts or materials indigenous to them is also a pointer to their identity. The Okpe people, before the Colonial Era (and up till now), named their indigenous materials and concepts as Okpe; for example, their *Palm Kernel Pomade* they describe as *AMIVI-OKPE*, their *black soap* as *OZA-OKPE*, etc. Whereas the areas whose language and identity is Urhobo, describe their indigenous materials and concepts with the term Urhobo; for example, *ODJA-URHOBO* as the *Urhobo Black Soap*. The people of Ughelli Kingdom (an example of Urhobo Kingdoms), for instance, never call it ODJA-UGHELLI.

 

It is instructive to point out that documents in which any Okpe leader(s) used the term SOBO or URHOBO for Okpe people, simply referred to the explained geopolitical description. This is akin to, for example, *Esan* and *Etsako* people of *Edo State* accepting Edo Identity NOT because they are Edo by language and ethnicity, but because they are of Edo State now and of old Benin Province, during the Colonial Era. Since the Local Government Reforms of 1976, which brought to an end the use of the term Eastern Urhobo and Western Urhobo to name any units of Administration by the government, the Okpe people have gradually done away with the term Urhobo in all communications referring to them.

 

4. *Okpe Ancestry and Migration as Distinct from Urhobo*.

 

Whereas the Urhobo people are said to have begun their series of migrations from the Benin area, particularly _*Udo*_ by the *11th Century A.D.* (during the *Ogiso Dynasty*) to the area now known as Urhobo-land, the Okpe people starting from the *father of Okpe, Prince Igboze*, moved with his “household” to a place now called _*Olomu_, around early _*16th Century*_ (during the *Oba Dynasty*). They met some people already settled there and Igboze being of high status, established a kingdom among them. Igboze later gave his daughter in marriage to Olomu and the son of that marriage took over the leadership of the place (Olomu) while Okpe (only son of Prince Igboze) and his supporters, moved on to _*Okpe Ikpere*_ which is known as _*Okpe Isoko*_ today, to establish a new kingdom. At the demise of Okpe, his four sons (which form the Four Ruling Houses of Okpe Kingdom today), led by *Orhue* (the eldest son of Okpe, his brothers being _*Orhoro, Evbreke and Esezi*_), moved to secure another area considered by them more vast to establish a larger kingdom. They found this at the *Orerokpe* area from which the descendants of the four sons of Okpe (described as *ADA-ENE* which means Four Gates – & *Four Ruling Houses*_) spread to the territories of Sapele and Okpe Local Government Areas of today’s Delta State and beyond, which make up the Okpe Kingdom today. It is therefore embarrassing that the ITEBU-ONOME Press Conference/Press Statement drew inference from the fact that Igboze was buried at Olomu in the migration narrative, to conclude that Okpe people are Urhobos as Olomu is Urhobo. Why did they not draw similar inference from the fact that Okpe was buried in Okpe Isoko, to conclude that the Okpe people are Isokos? It is also important to point out that the vast majority of the said Olomu people have no blood connections with Igboze as there were occupants in the territory of Olomu before Igboze arrived, and also that the connection of a few there with Igboze, was through his daughter, whereas in nearly all parts of Africa, and in all of the Niger Delta, ancestry is paternal.

 

As the ancestry and periods of migration of the Urhobo people and the Okpe people are clearly different, their identities are distinct. _*It is therefore ridiculous for anyone to claim any substantial ancestral connections between them, and much worse, by the same token, infer that Okpe is Urhobo.*_

 

5. _*Okpe Language and Urhobo Language as Distinct Languages*_.

 

The Okpe Language has been a subject of research and analyses by the Linguistics Departments of both the University of Ibadan and the Delta State University, Abraka with the conclusion that it is a distinct language of the Edoid Group of Languages which include _*Edo, Esan, Etsako, Urhobo, Isoko, the Okpe*_, etc. _*Both researches concluded that the Okpe Language is NOT a dialect of any language in the world*_. The research of the Linguistics Department of the University of Ibadan was sponsored by the late Adane of Okpe, *Chief B.T. Owumi*. The study came up with Okpe Language texts including an Okpe Language Teacher’s Guide. Whereas none of the organisers of the disgraceful Political Press Conference (apparently to demonstrate to some political quarters that they were working), has contributed a dime to the current Okpe Language Teaching and Learning project currently actively spearheaded by HRM Orhue I, Orodje of Okpe, they have decided, for the sake of perceived political porridge, attempted to put spanners on the wheel of decades of sacrifices by others, by declaring that Okpe is NOT a language but a dialect of Urhobo Language without any logical basis. Even *Ethnologue*, the International Organisation that determines distinct languages of the world, has the _*two Okpe languages*_ (one each of Edo and Delta States of Nigeria respectively) in its website as distinct languages.

 

In Bendel State times, the Okpe Ethnic Nationality was fully recognised as the Okpe Language was used to cast news in the Bendel Broadcasting Service Radio and Television, separate from the Urhobo Language. The various local language entertainment programmes also featured the Okpe Language and Urhobo Language separately. This continued after the creation of Delta State with the two Government Radio and Television stations in Asaba and Warri respectively. Presently, as the local language news of the Delta State Government Broadcasting Stations is no longer in operation, the various local languages educational and entertainment programmes, employ both the Okpe and the Urhobo languages separately. Many senior citizens of Edo are Delta States still remember with nostalgia, how the Bendel State local languages news usually ended with: _*”And that was the news in EDO”; “…  in ESAN”; “… in URHOBO”; “… in ITSEKIRI”; “… in OKPE”; “… in ISOKO”; “… in EZON;*_ etc. How could anyone in Delta State, a smaller Administrative Unit than the then Bendel State, deny the Okpe Ethnic Nationality and Language its due place, when areas that are geographically and demographically smaller than the Okpe Nation, have such full recognition and consequential entitlements? When those doing it are Okpe Nationals, the level of betrayal becomes indeed outrageous.

 

6. *Participation of Some Okpe Nationals in UPU as an Individual Right and Not on Behalf of the Okpe Nation.*

 

The _*Okpe Union_* was founded in 1930 in Lagos before the _*Urhobo Brotherly Society*_ which was formed in *1931* in Warri. The Urhobo Brotherly Society was joined by some other Urhobo groups to form the Urhobo Progress(ive) Union in *1934*. The *Okpe Union* was *registered* with the Nigerian Colonial Government on the *13th of December, 1934* under the Land (Perpetual Succession) Ordinance No. 32, of 1924, while the *UPU* was *registered* in *1946*. At a point in the 1930s up to the 1940s, the Colonial Government instituted a policy for organisations which were not registered to cease operations as the government insisted on knowing the identity of those behind organisations. For the UPU not to fall under the harmer of the law, the Okpe Union permitted them to present the registration certificate of the Okpe Union for its operations claiming that they were sister or associate organisations. This was how, *Barrister Julius Eyituoyo Odiete*, the Secretary General of the Okpe Union of that period, had to be made an official (Secretary) of the Lagos Chapter of the UPU. It was all the more convenient then as his mother was an Urhobo from the current Ughelli North Local Government Area. Apart from that, throughout the Colonial Era up until the creation of Delta State, no Okpe persons, except those who were partly Urhobo, either paternally or maternally, participated in UPU activities as there was the vibrant Okpe Union which had been the ethnic union for the Okpe people.

 

It was in the Ibru Era as the First Civilian Governor of Delta State, that the UPU was more or less converted into a political organisation rather than an ethnic organization simpliciter. Governor Ibru mobilised the UPU to have an event in Orerokpe for the first time and convinced some Okpe politicians to join. Since then, the UPU up till date has always officially declared support for an Urhobo governorship candidate in ALL Delta State Governorship elections (and it has succeeded only once with the election of *Gov. Felix Ibru* whom several Ethnic Groups supported in a Two-Party Era). _*It is this transformation of the UPU from an Ethnic social cultural organisation to a political organisation that has attracted the participation of some Okpe politicians who have done so individually and NOT on behalf of the Okpe people*_. Therefore, the relatively recent participation in the activities or leadership of the UPU by some Okpe nationals which include the likes of the Late *Chief Patrick Aziza*, Chief (Mrs.) Margaret Unukeguo, and now Chief Isaac Itebu, amounts to individual participation. To underscore the point that it is purely political, these persons and other politicians who have “afternoon” or “evening” participation in the UPU, do not belong to any known branches of the Urhobo Progress Union which was one of the criteria to contest for any executive positions when the UPU was purely an Ethnic socio-cultural Organisation.

 

7. *Attacks on Prof. Igho Natufe, President General of the Okpe Union (Worldwide) as unfortunate*.

 

Prof. Igho Natufe, the President General of the Okpe Union (Worldwide), being a member of theSapele LGA Branch of the Okpe Union, was freely elected by the delegates from the various branches of the Okpe Union in the last two Election General Assemblies of the Union. It is advantageous for an organisation (especially an Ethnic Union which has nationals all over different countries of the world), to have a leader with the wherewithal and capacity to travel round the world. The members of the Okpe Union have not complained to anyone on how many months of the year that their President General spends outside Nigeria to meet with Okpe nationals from all over the world and for other assignments. Secondly, all the invectives against *Prof. Igho Natufe* regarding his participation in the *Urhobo Historical Society* are misplaced. Indeed he was a Co-founder of the body along with the late *Prof. Peter Ekeh*. As noted earlier, the Colonial Classification of Urhobo, Okpe and Isoko as Sobo and being lumped together in one Administrative Division called Urhobo Division, established a Geopolitical link between the Urhobos and the Okpes. That Prof. Igho Natufe co-founded the Urhobo Historical Society was a function of the view of Urhobo as a Geopolitical Almagam, commonwealth or alliance. From the benefit of hindsight now, maybe all Okpe people, going forward, when forming any group or task that involves both Urhobos and Okpes, should insist on a combined term like URHOBO-OKPE or OKPE-URHOBO. If Prof. Igho Natufe had insisted, when co-founding the Urhobo Historical Society, that the name should be URHOBO-OKPE Historical Society, maybe these insults would not be thrown at him now.

 

The leadership of Prof. Igho Natufe remains committed to the words of the Orodje of Okpe, HRM Orhue I (quoted under section 1 of this Press Statement), which is to _*“…sustain and advance the place as well as the interest of Okpe in the comity of Nigerian nationalities”*_, while fostering harmonious relations between the Okpe Nation and the various ethnic nationalities of Delta State and Nigeria, including the people of the Urhobo Nation, which are no doubt, about the closest neighbours to the Okpe people.

 

8. *Call for Unity and Solidarity amongst the People and Leaders of the Okpe Nation.*

 

The Okpe Union, being the umbrella socio-cultural ethnic organisation of the Okpe Nation whose leadership is determined by its members through branch delegates in General Meetings, cannot betray the historical heritage and legacy of distinct nationhood bequeathed to Okpe people of all generations by the founding fathers. The leadership of the union under Prof. Igho Natufe therefore calls on all Okpe Nationals the world over to rally round the Okpe Union at this critical time which has witnessed continuous onslaught on its soul by some politicians who think only of immediate gratification. While we ask those who have some influence on them to prevail on them to apologise to the Okpe Nation for attempting to desecrate the sacrosanct legacy of distinct ethnicity of the Okpe Nation, we point it out to the world that the Okpe Union shall not waiver nor quiver in its determination to correct the errors of the recent past about the distinct ethnic status of the Okpe Kingdom. We remind all Okpe Nationals that _*of all the documents that the political jobbers presented to deceive the gullible public*_ that the palace of the Okpe Nation has relinquished the position that Okpe is a distinct Ethnic Nationality and Language, _*none of them has ever been signed by an Orodje of Okpe or the Secretary of the Udogun-Okpe*_. They also have always presented only photocopies or scans of Newspaper publications and not the photocopies or scans of the actual documents said to have been signed by any Okpe leaders. We opt here not to let out some terrible things some persons have done in the name of politics including forgery. To get the position of the *Udogun Okpe* that Okpe is a distinct Ethnic Nationality under no other, anyone can consult the study sponsored by the Udogun Okpe, ENTITLED _*“The Okpe People of Delta Central Senatorial District, Delta State Nigeria”, where the Urhobos were described as “neighbours”*_.

 

Were the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) to be set up in Bendel State times, the Okpe Nation would have definitely been officially recognized in it, without much ado. Its exclusion has deprived Okpe communities of comparative development as well as deprived students (in Higher Institutions) of Okpe origin from the two local Government Councils of the Okpe Nation of a fair and commensurate access to Bursaries and scholarships. The deprivation of an Executive Director in DESOPADEC which all Ethnic Nations recognised by the DESOPADEC Law are entitled to, as well as an exclusive commissioner, has further shortchanged the Okpe Nation. It is the firm belief of the Okpe Union that both _*the Urhobo Nation and the Okpe Nation have been shortchanged by the fusing of the two which has resulted in the two peoples sharing from the same pot of government empowerments, slots, appointments, and many more areas*_, whereas smaller nationalities receive about same quantum, as sharing is mostly per group. _*The recognition of Okpe would therefore be a win-win for both the Urhobo Nation and the Okpe Nation*_.

 

To mortgage the future of a people for a miscalculated perceived political narrative is dangerous for the survival of such people. We therefore call on all well-meaning Okpe Nationals, including the Governor of our dear Delta State, *H.E. Elder Sheriff Oborevwori*, to move to correct the error of the recent political past in Delta State, of grouping the Okpe Nation as under another Ethnic Nationality. _*The classification of Delta State as having five major Ethnic Nationalities which all other Ethnic Groups must be conscripted into, since the Chief Felix Ibru Era has been dismantled*_ with the official recognition of the _*Ika*_ and _*Ndokwa*_ as distinct Ethnic Nations (for example, under the *DESOPADEC Law*), even though the Governors Ibru and Ibori policies grouped them as under *ANIOMA*, one of the erstwhile five classifications.

 

9. *Conclusion*

 

Gentlemen and ladies of the Press, as we call on all members of the various branches of the Okpe Union as well as all Okpe nationals the world over to remain united and support the current National Executive Council of the Okpe Union led by Prof. Igho Natufe as President General, we pray God to grant HRM Orhue I, the Orodje of Okpe, continuous wisdom and health of mind and body to continue steering the Okpe Kingdom in the right direction. We call on the Press to correct the disinformation and misrepresentations given to the public by the Press Conference/Statement organised by the former President General of the Okpe Union, Chief Robert Onome, the 1st Deputy President General of Urhobo Progress Union, Chief Isaac Itebu and others, on the 30th of July, 2025, as they have no locus standi or qualification, to speak on behalf of the Okpe Nation.

 

We seize this opportunity to commend the Governor of Delta State, *H.E. Elder Sheriff Oborevwori*, on the imminent take off of the _*Southern Delta University Campus at Orerokpe*_ and call on the state government to consider the completion of the proposed _*Sapele Polytechnic, Deghele, Elume*_, which so much resources of the state government has already gone into. We call on the President and Commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, *President Bola Tinubu*, firstly, to as a matter of urgent national importance review the situation of the _*Sapele Sea Port*_ which is the only fresh water natural harbour in Nigeria with huge developmental potentials in the Nigerian maritime sector.  Secondly, we urge the President to reopen the _*Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), station at Amuokpe*_, in Sapele Local Government Area which has been nonfunctioning for a couple of years now depriving the entire Delta Central Senatorial District and beyond, access to national television coverage. Thirdly, the deplorable condition of the _*Benin-Sapele Highway*_ and the _*Warri-Sapele Highway*_, which have wrecked untold hardship to the economy of the Okpe Kingdom and Delta State, require immediate attention. We call on the Federal Government to expedite action in fixing their failed portions and propel the companies handing the contracts, to accelerate the reconstruction projects.

 

 

*Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!*

*Long live Delta State!*

*Long live the Okpe Nation*

*Long live the Orodje of Okpe!*

*Long live the Okpe Union!*

 

 

*SIGNED:*

 

 

*Engr. Francis O. Redemi*,

1st Deputy President General,

Okpe Union (Worldwide).

 

*Mr. Omamurhomu Ayaruja*,

2nd Deputy President General,

Okpe Union (Worldwide).

 

*Dr. Lucky Akpere*,

3rd Deputy President General,

Okpe Union (Worldwide).

 

*Mr. Bernard Adibor*,

4th Deputy President General,

Okpe Union (Worldwide).

 

*Barr. Kingsley E. Akpederin*,

General Secretary,

Okpe Union (Worldwide).

 

*Barr. Victor Oruno*,

National Publicity Secretary

Okpe Union (Worldwide).

 

*Madam Grace E. Dinna*

National Women Coordinator,

Okpe Union (Worldwide).

 

*Comrade. Mary O. Pender*,

National Youths Coordinator,

Okpe Union (Worldwide).

 

*Comrade David Ajuja*

National Secretary,

Okpe Union Youths Wing,

(Worldwide).