The succession crisis as to who becomes the new Olu of Warri Kingdom, in Delta State, assumed a new twist following declaration by the Ologbotsere, the traditional Prime Minister of the Itsekiri people, Ayiri Emami, that the purported announcement of Prince Tshola Emiko as successor to the throne was illegal.
Emami, who kicked against the unveiling of Prince Emiko as king of the ancient kingdom by the majority of the Chiefs Council at Ode- Itsekiri, the ancestral home of the Itsekiris, argued that he remains the only individual empowered by a 1979 Edict to announce the death of an Olu and announce the ascension of a new one.
The Iyatsere of Warri kingdom, Johnson Amatserunreleghe, had in a brief ceremony on Monday at Ode-Itsekiri proclaimed Prince Shola Emiko, son of Atuwatse 19th Olu of Warri as the new king and also officially announced the death of His Royal Majesty, Ogiame Ikenwoli.
Both announcements by the Iyatsere and Ologbotsere, Emami who is the second in command in the hierarchy of the Itsekiri people had created tension in the past months, further heightened by fresh intrigues within last week.