The attention of the leadership and people of Orogun Kingdom has been drawn to an open letter circulating in the public domain on October 14, 2025, purportedly authored by Ms. Bennis E. Agbonifo and addressed to His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Delta State, over a recent Public Notice issued by Olorogun Barr. Jaro Egbo, the Executive Chairman of Ughelli North Local Government Council.
While Orogun Kingdom ordinarily would not respond to falsehoods calculated to mislead the public, it has become necessary to issue this clarification solely on the misleading and fraudulent claim in the said letter, where Ms. Agbonifo described herself as the President-General of Orogun Kingdom.
This claim is completely false, without basis in fact, custom, or law.
Clarification of Facts
For the avoidance of doubt, Ms. Bennis E. Agbonifo is not, and has never been, the President-General of Orogun Kingdom.
The position of President-General is an elective and constitutionally recognized office within the Orogun Progress Union—the central community development body of the kingdom. The office is filled through a transparent and traditional process involving the participation of the five subclans of Orogun and ratified by the Okpara-Uku of Orogun Kingdom.
Contrary to Ms. Agbonifo’s claim, no election whatsoever took place on 10 July 2025, the date indicated on a purported certificate allegedly issued by the Delta State Ministry of Women Affairs, Community and Social Development. The said document, which describes her as “Olorogun (Dr.) Bennis E. Agbonifo, President-General of Orogun Kingdom,” is misleading.
The authentic and legitimate President-General of Orogun Kingdom remains Chief (Barr.) E. T. Opone, who was duly elected by the Okpara in Council of Imodje-Orogun with the seal of His Highness Moses Erheromebe Ejenadia, the Okpara of Imodje, and consecrated by HRM Joseph Okorocha Emoghene, Osuokpa I, the Okpara-Uku of Orogun Kingdom, on 17 September 2024, in line with Orogun’s established zoning arrangement.
By custom, the office of President-General is rotated among the subclans of Orogun for an eight-year tenure beginning with Orogun’s last born, in the following order: Ogwa, Imodje, Emonu, Unukpo, and Umusu. It was the rightful turn of Imodje Subclan to produce the President-General. The Okpara of Imodje-Orogun, HRH Moses Erheromebe Ejenadia, did not sign, authorize, or delegate any authority for Ms. Agbonifo’s purported election or certification.
It must also be emphasized that Ms. Agbonifo hails from Ogwa Subclan, which had just completed its eight-year tenure in the person of Chief (Barr.) Benson Onoharigho Ndakara, and she has no significant ancestral link to Imodje Subclan. Her paternal lineage is from Ebor in Ogwa, and her maternal roots trace to Otorho in Umusu. Her faint link to Imodje is through her maternal grandmother, and so her desperate claim of wanting to be the President-General of Orogun Kingdom through Imodje can be likened to a “drowning man clutching at a straw.” It is therefore deceptive and unacceptable.
Following her failed attempt to contest the President-General position through subtafuge, the duly elected President-General, Chief (Barr.) E. T. Opone, out of magnanimity, appointed Ms. Agbonifo as a member of the Technical Committee on Water Needs in Orogun Kingdom. She served in that capacity from January 2025 until around April 2025 as secretary, when she abruptly exited the committee and began nursing a divisive ambition to usurp the office of the President-General. She subsequently declared herself the “President-General of Orogun-Efe Kingdom,” and later metamorphosed into the self-styled “President-General of Orogun Kingdom.”
It must also be noted that on page 5 of The Pointer newspaper of Friday, 10 October 2025—an edition Ms. Agbonifo personally forwarded to my WhatsApp line—a story appeared in which an “Ovie of Orogun Kingdom” was purportedly “coronated” by some unidentified persons. In that publication, she referred to herself as the President-General of Orogun Kingdom. While I am not in a position to hold brief for the Council Chairman, the public should ask Ms. Agbonifo who exactly are the so-called “Council of Okparuku Makers” she mentioned as those who performed the “sacred coronation function” referenced in her letter to the Governor of Delta State in response to the Honourable Chairman of Ughelli North.
Let it be known that on Wednesday, 24th September, 2025, some of these “Council of Okparuku Makers” accompanied her to the Urhobo 24 PGs Forum at PTI Road, Effurun to request that she be admitted into their fold—a brazen act of effrontery. When she was asked to produce a letter of introduction from the Okpara-Uku of Orogun Kingdom, she and her “Council” met a brick wall because they know that they can’t get it from the Okpara-Uku. Like magicians, they soon devised another ‘abracadabra’, organizing a so-called “sacred coronation function” to crown an “Ovie of Orogun Kingdom.”
This entire drama is not only sacrilegious but also a deliberate mockery of Orogun’s customs and institutions.
A Pattern of Reckless Ambition
This pattern of conduct mirrors a restless and misguided pursuit of titles without legitimacy—comparable to Atiku Abubakar’s ceaseless party-hopping in search of the presidency, prompting Nyesom Wike’s rhetorical question, “Did they prescribe drugs for presidency for you?” In like manner, one may ask whether the Orogun President-Generalship has been prescribed to Ms. Agbonifo as a drug she cannot do without.
A close parallel can also be drawn between Ms. Bennis E. Agbonifo and Queen Athaliah of Judah, whose ruthless ambition drove her to destroy every royal heir in order to seize power and become the first and only woman to rule the throne of Israel. In the same spirit of unrestrained ambition, Ms. Agbonifo has repeatedly demonstrated a desperate desire to ascend to the office of President-General of Orogun Kingdom, even at the expense of peace, truth, and human life.
It is on record that she once summoned Chief (Barr.) E. T. Opone, the legitimate President-General of Orogun Kingdom, alongside Mr. Romeo Hitler, Mr. Christopher Osirim, and my humble self, to a shrine and later to ‘Eghwa Rode’ (evil forest), with the alleged intent of causing us harm so she could advance her claim to leadership. Evidence of this disturbing act exists both in recorded video and on the Paranran Facebook page, which she personally sent to us on WhatsApp.
To show that I hold no personal grudge against her, after the ‘Eghwa Rode’ incident—where she invoked the “four elements” to kill us—I saw her at the palace on Wednesday 8th October, 2025, the day she was publicly disgraced and driven out of the palace with her group of armed uniformed men for promoting the false narrative of “ovieship,” claiming there was a document allegedly written by Justice James Omo-Agege directing that Orogun Kingdom should transition to an ovie system. Before that incident, I had walked up to her, shook her hand, and said, “God bless you,” to which she replied, “Amen.”
Like Athaliah, whose reign was marked by treachery and desecration, Ms. Agbonifo’s conduct reflects a pattern of reckless ambition that stands against the moral and traditional values of Orogun Kingdom.
On the Integrity of Orogun Leadership
Orogun Kingdom operates under a well-defined traditional and civic structure that harmonizes community administration with respect for lineage and custom. The Okpara-Uku of Orogun Kingdom remains the paramount traditional head and custodian of Orogun’s customs, while the President-General—through his legitimately elected executives—serves as the recognized organ for community governance and development.
No individual, regardless of personal ambition, may usurp the authority of these institutions or unilaterally assume a title that is elective and subject to due process.
Public Advisory
The general public, government agencies, and the media are hereby advised to disregard any representation, correspondence, or publication emanating from Ms. Bennis E. Agbonifo under the self-styled title of President-General of Orogun Kingdom.
Her claim neither reflects the position of the people nor the lawful structure of authority within Orogun Kingdom. The Ministry of Women Affairs, Community and Social Development has been petitioned and respectfully urged by the Okpara-Uku of Orogun Kingdom to investigate and withdraw the fraudulent certificate issued in her name in order to prevent the escalation of tension or disruption of the peace that Orogun Kingdom currently enjoys.
Conclusion
Orogun Kingdom remains united under its legitimate traditional and civic leadership, anchored on truth, peace, and mutual respect. We reaffirm Chief (Barr.) E. T. Opone as the duly recognized and consecrated President-General of Orogun Kingdom and reject in totality all false claims to that office.
We encourage all well-meaning individuals and institutions to continue to support the lawful leadership of Orogun Kingdom as we work with the Delta State Government to promote peace, unity, and progress for our people in line with the RENEWED HOPE FOR MORE Agenda.
Signed:
Foster Akpore
Media and Public Relations Officer
Orogun Kingdom
