Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has urged traditional rulers to preserve the cultural heritage of their communities while promoting peace, unity and development.
Fubara made the call through his deputy, Ngozi Odu, at the coronation of King Charles Douglas Mac-Pepple Jaja VI as the sixth Amanyanabo of Opobo Kingdom in Rivers State.
The ceremony in Opobo Town attracted former President Goodluck Jonathan, the Obi of Onitsha, Nnaemeka Achebe, the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, and other traditional rulers and dignitaries.
Fubara described the coronation as a celebration of Opobo’s history, culture and heritage, stressing the role of traditional institutions in preserving cultural values, promoting unity and maintaining peace across communities.
He urged the new monarch to provide purposeful leadership and help advance the welfare and development of the people, while praying for wisdom, peace and progress throughout his reign.
Jonathan congratulated King Jaja VI and expressed confidence that the monarch would build on the legacy of his predecessors by promoting peace, unity and development in Opobo Kingdom.
In his coronation address, King Jaja VI urged the people of Opobo to uphold the courage, vision and enterprise of their forebears.
He paid tribute to the founding monarch, King Jaja of Opobo, whom he described as a strategist and statesman who built Opobo into a major commercial center and defended its economic interests during the colonial era.
“The Opobo Kingdom does not ask for charity, but partnership and equity,” the monarch said, drawing a parallel with the position of the kingdom’s founder.
The Jaja dynasty traces its roots to King Jaja of Opobo, a prominent 19th-century palm-oil trader who established Opobo as a major commercial center in the Niger Delta and resisted British interference in the kingdom’s trade. King Charles Douglas Mac-Pepple Jaja VI is the latest monarch of the royal house and the sixth Amanyanabo of Opobo Kingdom.
The new monarch thanked Fubara, Odu, Jonathan, traditional rulers and other dignitaries for attending the coronation.
Earlier, the Obi of Onitsha, Nnaemeka Achebe, described the relationship between Onitsha and Opobo as one built on trade, mutual respect and the enduring legacy of their forebears.
The highlight of the ceremony was the anointing and coronation of King Jaja VI by the Bishop of the Niger Delta Diocese, Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Oko-Jaja.
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