Delta gov must respect traditional institution —Ex-minister

Former Minister of State for Education, Chief Kenneth Gbagi, has asked Delta State governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, to show respect to the traditional institution at all times.

The former minister, in a statement by his legal assistant, Charles Jonah, said that top agents of the state government disrespected traditional rulers of Urhobo land during a recent visit of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to the state.

The statement decried the situation which saw the government of Delta State kept some traditional rulers in the state waiting at the auditorium of the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun, for six hours during the visit of the vice president, adding that the treatment was “humiliating and embarrassing.”

He said that while the vice president was originally scheduled to visit Gharamatu Kingdom, Olu of Warri and Ughelli, one of the aspects of the visit was removed by officials of the state government, thereby keeping the traditional rulers waiting at the venue.

Gbagi said in the statement that he knew the vice president as a man who respects traditional institutions, adding that the Vice President’s office could not have deliberately kept the traditional rulers waiting.

He said that officials of Delta State government were responsible for the mix up.

“The originally released programme of the vice president have him to visit Gbaramatu, the Olu of Warri and Ughelli, the headquarters of Urhobo people for balance.

“The Ughelli aspect of the visit was removed on Saturday by the state government. As if that was not enough, nothing would have been wrong if an arrangement was made for all the traditional rulers to be in one of the palaces for the vice president to pay them a visit as opposed to carrying them to a school auditorium and tying them up for hours.”

The state government, however, denied the allegation in a statement by the   Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the governor, Mr Charles Aniagwu.

The statement accused Gbagi of attempting to cause ethnic disunity in the state.

The statement read in part: “Reading through the statement credited to Gbagi, I found it very disturbing that someone who should be much more concerned about how we can build more bridges of unity rooted in equity, fairness and ethnic harmony, could descend to the arena to fan the embers of ethnic disunity and hatred.”

“How could anybody imagine that as a governor who had enjoyed and continued to enjoy the cooperation of traditional rulers from across the different ethnic groups in the state, will take steps that will undermine the revered stool of our traditional rulers, let alone taking a very well respected ethnic group like the Urhobos for granted.”