Okpe Nation has to be recognized in DESOPADEC, NDDC ā Okpe Union Leaders
Notable Okpe leaders on Sunday continued the campaign of Okpe as a distinct ethnic nationality in Nigeria.
āā The Okpe Union strongly affirms that 
. The letter of Udogun Okpe is an example of a person cutting his nose to spite his face. The Udogun Okpe letter has brought the Okpe Kingdom to global ridiculeāā.
A publication authored by the Udogun-Okpe last week made several spurious statements discrediting the letter of the Okpe Union addressed to the Governor of Delta state, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa on the 22nd of June 2021 requesting for the recognition of Okpe as a distinct ethnic nationality.
But the prominent leaders in Okpe Kingdom on Sunday reaffirmed Okpe Unionās commitment to the agitation for the reinstatement and recognition of Okpe as a distinct ethnic nationality.
āāThe NEC received the Udogun Okpe open letter to the Governor with shock, disbelief and regret as such a poorly worded piece, which contained several expressions intended to pit some Okpe nationals against others, is claimed to have emanated from the highest traditional authority of Okpeāā.
In a communiquĆ© of the Okpe Union from the emergency meeting of the national executive council, held on July 15 and 17, 2021, the union vowed toĀ intensify its sensitization activities in Okpe Nation regarding the fact that Okpe is a distinct ethnic nationality as well as the benefits of recognizing Okpe as a distinct ethnic nationality.
āāNEC shall continue its liaison with the Government of His Excellency, Senator Dr. Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa and the Delta State House of Assembly for the restatement and recognition of Okpe as a distinct ethnic nationality. The attainment of Okpe Identity is a sacred historical mission of the Okpe Unionāā the leaders stated.
Signed by the Okpe Union President General, Professor Igho Natufe and General Secretary, Barrister Akpederin Kingsley, the union urged the Okpe traditional rulerĀ to reconcile his present position with the position he brilliantly espoused in defence of Okpe Identity in his Keynote Address at the 3rdĀ AGM of the Okpe Union of North America on September 1, 2007, at College Park, MD, USA.
āYour activities have helped tremendously to positively define, sustain and advance the place as well as the interest of Okpe in the comity of Nigerian nationalitiesāā
The Okpe monarch was quoted as saying that Okpe Kingdom was a unique ethnic nationality.
āāLocated in the central senatorial district of Delta State in Nigeria, Okpe is a unique ethnic nationality. It has distinctive roots in ancient history, tradition, culture, custom and language. The historical tract of the Okpe people is conclusive. The Okpe people are the most populous monolithic ethnic nationality in Delta State. Our people are rooted in migration from the Bini Kingdom. This historical experience is similar to most other ethnic nationalities of the Western Niger Delta. Of all these nationalities however, Okpe history, language, tradition, and culture are closer to those of Bini which form part of the Edo group of languages.ā
The Okpe leaders noted that the authors of the Udogun Okpe rejoinder clearly have no understanding of the benefits of recognizing Okpe as a distinct ethnic nationality
Ā āāThe Okpe people will immediately occupy their pride of place in the comity of ethnic nationalities in Delta State and Nigeria as the misconception that Okpe is under another ethnicity would be buried forever. As an ethnic nationality that exclusively owns at least two local government areas in Delta State, the Okpe Nation shall immediately be recognized in DESOPADEC and therefore be entitled to an exclusive Commissioner and an Executive Director like our neighbour oil producing ethnicities of Delta State. The advantages of this include direct budget for the area, specific slots for different empowerment programs and policies e.g., bursary awards for Okpe students which they now share with Urhobo students under crass discrimination and many other direct allocationsāā. ā
The Union went further to say that āā the development and teaching of Okpe language in all schools in Okpeland andĀ Ā Ā beyond can generate immediate employment for Okpe language teachers which other fully recognized ethnicities currently benefitāā
The Union enlightened that the āāOkpe language will occupy its place in public broadcast be it radio and television as well as interpretation in churches and other public placesāā
āāOkpe music, traditional masters of ceremonies and orators shall flourish thereby generating more local employment. The development of the Okpe language will promote the survival of the language and also enhance literary advantages in the academics of Okpe children as African languages have proven to have an appreciable impact in the arts generally. The self-esteem for Okpe nationals that the recognition of Okpe ethnicity will bring about is unquantifiable. A robust self-esteem is a sine qua non for success in businesses, politics, and several other vocations. Politically, Okpe shall become a recognized bloc which is negotiated with on its own recognition with the cards placed on the table objectively and equitably. The crisis of identity which has been faced by Okpe nationals, who have, since colonial times, rejected the burden of a false identity, will finally be lifted from the shoulders of the Okpe peopleāā.
The angry Okpe leaders said the Okpe Union was registered to function with an unambiguous constitution
āāThe Okpe Union has the highest respect for the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom. The Okpe Union affirms that the Udogun Okpe is the apex Traditional Council of Okpe Kingdom. The Okpe Union is the apex Socio-cultural organization and membership-based organ of all Okpe, legally registered to so function with an unambiguous constitution. Okpe Union shall continue to execute this function in Okpe Nation across all the 13 Districts. The registered office of the Okpe Union is No. 67 (new No. 65), Moshalashi Street, Ikoyi, Lagos. This secretariat building of the Okpe Union named āOkpe Houseā, Obalende, Lagos is the property of the Okpe Union and the fact that it is the registered office of the Okpe Union can be verified with the Corporate Affairs Commission. It is true that the Union had in principle agreed to build a befitting headquarters in Okpeland, which is still a work in progressāā.
The Okpe Union leaders declared that āāthe dissolution decree of October 3, 2020, is a breach of the sacred history of unbroken democratic transition in the Okpe Union in the over 91(ninety-one) years of existence and an unconstitutional action by the Orodje to convert the Okpe Union into an administrative arm of the Palaceāā.
āāThe October 3, 2020 purported dissolution of the democratically elected leadership of the Okpe Union and banning of NEC members from contesting elective positions by HRM, Orhue 1, the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom is ultra vires and a violation of the Okpe Union Constitutionāā
āāAs a legal entity, the procedure for dissolution or removal of any elected official of the Okpe Union and election of a National Executive Council of the Union is clearly provided for in its constitution. Therefore, any action by any person or group of persons purporting to remove or dissolve the democratically elected Okpe Union leadership outside the provisions of its Constitution is not binding, void and of no effect whatsoeverāā.
The union condemned the attempt to return to the deceased concept of the divine rights of kings.
The leaders commended the courage of members of the Okpe Union from branches all over the country whose delegates met in the General Assembly of the Union on the 14thĀ of November 2020 which resolved to reject the 3rdĀ October, 2020 decree by the Orodje and opted for democratic elections.
āāThe Okpe Union recognizes the elected Okpe Union National Executive Council led by Prof. Igho Natufe that emerged during the national elections of the union at the Okpe Union General Assembly of May 15, 2021 and the purported nine man interim regime imposed by the Orodje on October 3, 2020, lacks the authority and legitimacy to speak on behalf of the Okpe Union and the Okpe Nation. It is an illegal entity and a disgrace to democratic practice. It is important to highlight the fact that only two out of the nine persons imposed interim group are members of the Okpe Union. It is therefore a contraption unknown to the Okpe Unionāā.
According to the union āāThe democratically elected leadership of the Okpe Union that emerged at its General Assembly possesses both historical and legitimate rights to speak on behalf of the Okpe Union and the Okpe Nation.
āā The capacity of the Okpe Union to speak on behalf of the Okpe people was clearly acknowledged in the open letter to the Governor of Delta State written for Orhue I, Orodje of Okpe and the Udogun Okpe on the 13thĀ of July 2021āā.
The union leaders continued āāIt is necessary for the Okpe public and friends of the Nation to know that for over six months from the date of the October 3, 2020 Orodjeās decree, the Okpe Union elected leadership had sought mediated ways out of the differences which were all rebuffed by the palaceāā.
āāSince its inception on May 16th, 1930, the Okpe Union played and continues to play critical roles in the growth and development of the Okpe Kingdom. The restoration of the Okpe Monarchy in 1945, after almost 200 years of interregnum, was due primarily to the fearless and selfless agitations and leadership of the Okpe Union. Thus, the Okpe Union birthed the modern Okpe Monarchy. The Okpe Union has been an independent organization from the administrative control of all Orodjes since 1945. This separation of powers has served Okpe Kingdom very wellāā.
The leaders affirmed that āāthe Orodje and the Udogun Okpe are not the ultimate authority to decide the fate of the Okpe people, without consulting the Okpe Agbamua-eni (Okpe Peopleās Assembly) which comprises the Udogun Okpe, representatives of all Okpe communities, and the Okpe Unionāā.
āāWe remind the Orodje of the efforts of the Okpe Union in getting Nigerian post-secondary institutions to recognize Okpe students associations in their respective campuses. We hate to contemplate the difficulties and setbacks the letter of Udogun Okpe of July 13, 2021, is going to cause to our childrenāā.
The leaders eulogized the founding fathers of the Okpe Union for raising the Okpe Kingdom to an enviable height.
āāThe Okpe Union reaffirms its selfless services to the Okpe people and Okpe Nation as it has done over the decades with some notable successes which include the prosecution of landmark cases to retain the ownership of Sapele and other areas of Okpeland; the sponsorship of several Okpe sons overseas with Okpe Union scholarships, and the launching of the fund-raising process which saw the building of the modern Orodje of Okpe Palace, Orerokpeāā.
The leaders appealed to all members of Okpe Union and Okpe people the world over to be calm and law abiding as the vision of the founding fathers of the Okpe Nation for a stable and constitutionally limited monarchy which serves only the interests of the Okpe Nation shall never be extinguishedāā.
