Odionwere Richard Ibizugbe Omoregbe
• Asserts we have always been autonomous
From our Correspondent, Benin
The claim of our neighbours; the people of Ugoneki to be owners of Ugbayon community is entirely false and cannot stand.
We have been autonomous since the days of our founding fathers and have never been under the authority of any other community contrary to the recent claims of some trouble making people in Ugoneki.
The people of Ugbayon community in Uhunmwonde Local Government Area, Edo State made this emphatic declaration recently in an enlarged meeting, calling on members of the public to disregard the claim; they termed: ‘a deliberate mischief to mislead and cause disharmony for whatever their interest (s) may be’.
The declaration was contained in a statement jointly signed by the Odionwere (most elderly and administrative Head), Pa Richard Ibizugbe Omoregbe, and members of the Council of Elders.
Other signatories include; the Okaighele (Youths Head) Nosakhare Michael Ahanor, and the Community Secretary, Kingsley Osemwegie Aifuwa for and on behalf of the entire people of Ugbayon Community.
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Reading the statement, the secretary, Kingsley Osemwengie Aifuwa said the people decided to hold the enlarged meeting to reject and condemn the alleged claims.
The recent claims made by some individuals from Ugoneki community, who have audaciously asserted ownership over our ancestral homeland and denied our sovereign identity are false, spurious and historically baseless, the statement adds.
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“The claims that Ugbayon is a tenant community is not merely an error but an affront to our ancestors, distortion of history and a malicious attempt to undermine our heritage and rights.”
The wrongful ownership claim cannot be divorced from Ugbayon community’s recent lawful initiative to create new residential layouts for development and enhanced security, the statement posited.
“We state unequivocally that the farmlands in question are the inheritance of Ugbayon families, cleared and nurtured by their forefathers, the claims that individuals bought this land from Ugoneki is predicated on fraudulent documents as you cannot sell what you do not own.”
Further, the statement emphasized that the boundaries between Ugbayon and Ugoneki communities are well-established, recognized for generations and defined by natural landmarks.
Adding; that Ugoneki had never exercised any form of administrative control, customary authority, or resource management over a single inch of Ugbayon land, hence their sudden claim is a transparent and desperate reaction to their progress.
“Ugoneki has no land to sell in Ugbayon, any document claiming otherwise is a worthless forgery and also, an attempt to use law enforcement to legitimize this theft is an abuse of due process.
“This baseless claim is not just an insult to Ugbayon’s history, it is a direct threat to our future, with likely consequences of stifling development, breeding instability and conflict between the two communities that have coexisted peacefully for generations.
“Ugbayon is an ancient community, a co-equal founder of the Ugo N’ Iyekikpoba dukedom.
“Ugbayon is not and have never been tenants or subject to Ugoneki and all land within the known and accepted boundaries of Ugbayon is the ancestral property and birthright of Ugbayon families, non-negotiable and inseparable from their identity.
“Therefore, the people will vigorously challenge all fraudulent documents and malicious petitions, through all legal and traditional means available.”
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Pointing out that the people of Ugbayon are peace loving and have chosen the path of the law; the statement however reiterates, that any further attempt(s) to trespass their land, tarnish their name or distort their history will be met with the full force of legal and traditional resistance.
Even as the people called on the Edo State Government to be wary of the attempt of what they termed: ‘some disgruntled elements’ to destabilize a peaceful community.
Also, ensure that her agencies are not misled by fraudulent claims.
The Odionwere, Council of Elders and the entire people of Ugbayon Community in Uhunmwonde Local Government Area Edo State have
However in the push for peaceful coexistence, the people appealed to the Benin Monarch, His Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II CFR to intervene and reaffirm the historical autonomy of Ugbayon community.
Efforts to get reaction from leaders of Ugoneki community as at the time of filing in this report for publication on Sunday, was not successful but we promise to bring the other side of the story subsequently.
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