It was a gathering of kings at the 20th Coronation Anniversary of the Chairman, Delta State Ijaw Traditional Rulers Forum, HRM Elder Capt. King Joseph Ijawperebo Timiyan (JP) Ph.D., Torububou 1 (Agbonu), the Ebenanaowei of the ancient Ogulagha Kingdom in the Burutu Local Government Area.

Traditional Rulers from various ethnic nationalities across Delta State majestically joined their counterpart at Obotobo 1 Community, venue of the royal ceremony that celebrates two decades of transformative leadership of the Ebenanaowei, whose reign began on November 12, 2005.

"In accordance with the Bible, in Proverbs 29 verse 2, which states that 'When the righteous rule, the people rejoice'. The reign of our dear king for these 20 years has brought unprecedented development to the ancient Ogulagha Kingdom," said the Bolouwei of the ancient kingdom, Chief William Igere, who is the AG Chairman of the ancient Ogulagha Kingdom Traditional Council of Chiefs.

The chairman listed some of His Majesty's achievements to encompass peace and peace building, human capital development, political advancement, recognition and empowerment of women, among others. 

He said, "It is instructive to note that since His Royal Majesty's ascension to the throne for the past 20 years, our kingdom has witnessed total peace, even though we must have had our differences, which is normal in human interaction. We have been able to resolve our issues internally and amicably, and have lived as one big family. And today I make bold to say the ancient Ogulagha Kingdom is one of the most peaceful kingdoms in the Niger Delta. 

"Prior to the ascension of His Royal Majesty on the throne, the Ogulagha man did not get involved in politics as we were all content with the meagre revenue from the oil industry. But since the ascension of His Majesty to the throne, an Ogulagha son is now a three-time member of the House of Representatives representing Burutu Federal Constituency and the Pioneer Chairman of the House Committee on South-South Development Commission.

"Also, some illustrious sons of the kingdom have been appointed by our governor into political offices, but we must say we are really doing well in their various offices and we sincerely appreciate our dear governor for these appointments," he added.

On women empowerment and inclusion in governance he said, "All over the world, there have been calls to get women more involved in governance, and in the scheme of things, our kingdom has not been left behind in this trend. Before the ascension of His Majesty as our king, no woman had been considered qualified to be conferred the chieftaincy title because of ancient patriarchal practices. But upon his ascension to the throne, our king has broken the barrier and has conferred several chieftaincy titles to deserving women in the kingdom.

"A lot of women have also been appointed into leadership positions within the leadership structure of the kingdom and outside the kingdom. His Royal Majesty has been a trailblazer of women empowerment.

"The ascension of our dear king to the throne has brought about unprecedented development strides, which has culminated the rural villages becoming modern communities in the kingdom," he added.

Though development has no terminal date and more infrastructures are needed in the Kingdom, the people however applauded His Majesty's achievements so far as they look ahead with utmost certainty to more transformational growth of the oil-rich Kingdom guided by Agbonu's vision and leadership.

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