By Patrick Ochei
The Ozoma of Onicha-Olona Kingdom in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State, Chief Austen Elumelu, JP, has refuted claims that the community traditionally operates a hereditary monarchy, insisting that its recognised leadership structure has always been based on the Okpalabisi system.
Chief Elumelu was reacting to a recent call by a group, Concerned Indigenes of Onicha-Olona, which urged the restoration of the Obi Ada kingship to the Ugbeh Royal Family, claiming the throne had historically been hereditary.
Speaking in a telephone interview with The Story, the Ozoma described the group’s position as inaccurate, maintaining that Onicha-Olona had never practised hereditary succession to its traditional leadership.
According to him, the community’s age-long leadership structure recognises the Okpalabisi, the highest-ranking titled man, as the traditional head of the kingdom.
Chief Elumelu explained that although the community at one time considered adopting a conventional kingship model in line with developments in other communities, the move was abandoned after disagreements emerged over who was entitled to occupy the throne.
He disclosed that the Ogbe-Obi Quarters had been requested to nominate a suitable candidate for the proposed kingship, but the process became contentious as several families within the quarters laid competing claims to the stool.
According to him, the disagreements made it impossible to proceed with the arrangement, prompting the community to retain its traditional leadership system.
“We could not continue with that arrangement because of the disagreements that arose. We therefore returned to our original system, which recognises the Okpalabisi as the traditional leader of the community,” he said.
The traditional leader urged members of the public to disregard claims that the kingdom historically operated a hereditary monarchy, insisting that such assertions do not reflect the community’s established traditional structure.
Chief Elumelu also advised the spokesperson of the group, Mr. Cyril Eziomume Nwaodi, popularly known as Kandysea, to refrain from making statements capable of creating division or projecting the community in a negative light.
He urged Nwaodi to channel his energy towards his music career rather than pursuing what he described as an unfounded claim relating to the traditional leadership of Onicha-Olona Kingdom.
