THE leadership crisis rocking the umbrella body of Urhobos worldwide, the Urhobo Progress Union (IPU), may have been laid to rest as Olorogun Moses Oghenerume Taiga has emerged as the new president-general of the union.
The election took place during an emergency congress convened by the union’s Board of Trustees (BoT), on Monday, at the UPU secretariat, Uvwiemuge Agbarho in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.
The emergency election, which was conducted with the tacit agreement of traditional rulers from all Urhoboland, saw the new President-General and his cabinet swiftly sworn in.
The sudden intervention of the BoT was informed by the lingering leadership crisis of the union characterised by unrest, chaos, infighting and allegations of flagrant disregard for the constitution of the union by the immediate past leadership.
Secretary of the BoT, Chief Victor Otomiewo, disclosed that the crisis that engulfed the sociocultural organisation, got to a climax on December 2, 2016, when the then president-general, Chief Joe Omene, in spite of two pending suits involving his executive, went ahead with an election at Chief Omene’s house at Mosogar.
According to Chief Otomiewo, “the Urhobo nation has gone through its most traumatic experience particularly in the last five years.
According to him, “the foremost Urhobo union that was founded by our fathers to make Urhobo one of the most progressive people in Nigeria, socially, politically, educationally, culturally and otherwise has been abused, traditionally debased by some few selfish individuals whose sole ambition is to use the union as a platform to amass wealth, political positions, peddle unmerited influence using the name and influence of our heroes past.”
The union’s scribe called on the Urhobo nation to rise up and restore its lost glory among the comity of tribes in Delta State and Nigeria as a whole.
In his appreciation message, Chief Taiga said: “I want to use this medium to thank everyone who has ensured this election worked out in a peaceful process.
“Our commitment is to serve the Urhobo nation, bringing everyone together to maintain a peaceful relationship with ourselves the ijaws, Itsekiris, Isokos and the Anioma people.
We will create a friendly ethnic relationship with our fellow ethnic groups to strengthen neighborhood to build a stronger Nigeria.”
While calling on all Urhobos who had gone astray to return to the fold, Chief Taiga thanked the state governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, commissioners and security agencies for ensuring a peaceful atmosphere.