The warring factions in the age long chieftaincy tussle of oil-rich Kula Kingdom in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State have decided to put their differences aside to embrace peace in the interest of peaceful co-existence, development and progress of the area.
The traditional rulers, chiefs and community leaders from the Sara Royal House and the Oko Royal House who could not see themselves eye ball to eye ball for many years, sat together and embraced themselves at a Peace and Unity meeting in Kula Community.
King Kroma Amabibi Eleki of the Sara Royal House and King Bourdillon Ekine Oko of the Oko Royal House officially dissolved and collapsed their Council of Chiefs into a new body known as the Kula Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers.
King Kroma Eleki emerged as Chairman of the Kula Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers while King Bourdillon Ekine Oko is to serve as Secretary of the body.
This marks a new dawn in the history of Kula that have been plagued with aged long traditional rulership crisis which threatened to balkanized the once most peaceful kingdom in the Niger Delta.
King Kroma Eleki who is the Amanyanabo of Anyame-Kula in his remarks said history will be kind to an illustrious son of the area Engr. Jack-Rich Tein Jr. for initiating the peace move.
He urged all Kula sons and daughters to promote love, unity and brotherliness, and eschew hatred, disharmony, disunity and all divisive tendencies capable of causing disaffection amongst them.
King Eleki said: “Kula is a rich kingdom but it is no longer enjoyable because of disunity among us. Today, with this peace, we will begin to make progress.”
On his part, King Bourdillon Ekine Oko who is the Amanyanabo of Opu-Kula (Old Shipping) also acknowledged the role played by Engr. Jack-Rich Tein Jr. in developing the area, creating wealth and uniting the people.
He said the era where different Royal Houses operated isolated traditional rulership in Kula were gone for good.
King Bourdillon noted that no community can make any meaningful progress in an atmosphere devoid of peace and cohesion among the people particularly the traditional leadership who are the custodian of the culture of peaceful co-existence.
King Bourdillon said: “I have no personal problem with my brother King Kroma Eleki, it is just that his father told him that he is the king and my father also told me that I am the king. Today, we have decided to work together and the community will move forward. I am calling on the men, women and youths to work with us for the community to move forward.”
Some Stakeholders of Kula which include Alapuye Elekiye-Okpara and Wapakabuari Ebejiye-Gaga who spoke on the sideline of the occasion described the inauguration of the Kula Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers as historic.
They regretted that Kula has suffered so much setback and avoidable deaths in the past as a result of the age long chieftaincy tussle in the area.
The Stakeholders urge the Rivers State government to support the peace move in Kula by recognizing the newly inaugurated Kula Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers as the highest decision making organ and authority of Kula Kingdom.
