By Paul Agbro
LAGOS JANUARY 1ST (URHOBOTODAY)- The newly appointed President General (Interim Admin) of the Urhobo Progressive Union (UPU), Chief Gabriel Ofortokun has disclosed that the era of taking personal decisions by certain individuals and claiming UPU has spoken is gone.
He equally advised critics to desist from the habit of undermining the status of Urhobo traditional rulers and accord them their due respect in the society arguing that it was wrong for some persons to refer to the decision by the Urhobo nation Royal fathers to dissolve the Chief Joe Omene led UPU and put an interim committee in place as a royal blunder.
Ofortokun who was reacting to an headline news in one of the state newspapers criticizing the dissolution of UPU EXCO and appointment of Interim Administration Committee described Royal fathers as very important persons whose action need to be respect and honoured, just as he said any child that has good home training will not call his father names.
Reacting during a media chat with Urhobotoday Sapele correspondent in his expansive office in Fountain Hotels in Sapele, Delta State on Wednesday he opened up about the assignment giving to him and members of the Committee saying, “What we are after is to organise a credible election to elect a new President General and his EXCO of UPU, to see to the amendment of some part of the constitution so as to ensure that no President General plays God to himself again in the nearest future.
“We are the fifth largest tribe in Nigeria, yet we are being marginalized. Never again are we going to let some charlatans hijack the Presidential General position and sell us for their own personal gains again.”
The Oghara born high chief who is the eldest son of late Chief John Ofortokun, the grand son of one of the founding fathers of Oghara kingdom while speaking on what should be done so that Uurhobo can gain his rightful position in the comity of nations explained that his Committee would
“The committee will recommend a think tank team made of various personnel from various field, men and women who had excel in their various professions to handle issues, so that right pegs will be put in right holes,” he noted, just as he advised that Urhobo youths should engage in productive agenda so has to move the Urhobo nation and Nigeria as a whole forward.
Ofortokun who said the era of using UPU for radicalism will soon be a thing of the past took Urhobos back to memory lane, “You see UPU was in crisis some years ago when we have three chiefs who were laying claims to the title of the President General then. So when Ibori came in, he invited all of them to a meeting and bluntly told them he could not work with a divided house. He sued for peace and right there, every one of them shield their sword and an interim administration was appointed to organized an election in three months, which Chief Okumagba won.”
Defending the credibility of the winner at the poll he explained that Okumagba won because he was the most influential among those who contested then, but quickly recalled how Okumagba campaigned all the nooks and crannies of Urhobo community selling his manifesto to the people.
“Did you know Chief Okumagba went from clan to clan campaigning? He won the election convincingly,” he affirmed, noting that posterity would judge Okumagba as a man who did things right and brought UPU back to its glory days.