The people of Okpoama Kingdom in Bayelsa State have rejected the planned retirement of their monarch, HRM King Ebitimi Banigo (Okpo XXI) on the 31st of July, 2024, through a letter addressed to him.
Mangrovepen.ng gathered that the Chairman of the Okpoama Kingdom Council of Chiefs, Chief Paul Briggs Omubo-Soubagha, disclosed this in a town hall meeting held on Sunday at Okpoama, in Brass Local Government Area of the state.
The letter was signed by the various sectional heads of Okpoama Kingdom, including the chairman and secretary of the chiefs council, highnesses, chairman of the Okpoama representative council, women leader, youth president, among others.
Our correspondent reports that the letter, which was read at the meeting by a prominent chief, noted that retirement was not an option in the kingship.
He added that King Banigo can take as long as he desires to take care of his health, which he had cited as the reason for his retirement.
“However, the entire kingdom has come to the conclusion that we remain your subjects irrespective of the number of years you will leave us for your health treatment and checks,” the letter reads in part.
They admitted that King Banigo has transformed and impacted the lives of the people of Okpoama and beyond, adding that no new King will be enthroned as long as he is alive, in line with the customs and traditions of the Okpoama Kingdom and all the Nembe-speaking Kingdoms.
It would be recalled that, some weeks ago, King Banigo’s retirement letter was trending on social media and made headlines in several newspapers across Nigeria.
