The fifth Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji Tijjani Ahmed Anaje was installed and presented with a Staff of Office by Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State on Thursday in Okene.
Alhaji Ahmed Anaje also took the oath of office before Governor Bello and a mammoth crowd and was thereafter presented with a Certificate and accordingly with the Staff of Office.
The ceremony attracted dignitaries from far and wide. Conspicuously absent was the Chairman, Kogi State Council of Chiefs, and Atta Igala, ..
Governor Bello urged all the Ebira people to unite and rally around the new Ohinoyi to achieve unity, safety, and security in Ebiraland.
To those who contested to be Ohinoyi, Bello appreciated them for the statesmanship, maturity, and comradeship they have displayed in the selection process, saying “There can be one person out of the 70 who contested and are eminently qualified.
“God has chosen Alhaji Ahmed Anaje as the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland.”
The governor urged the people to sheathe their swords and let Ebiraland develop, adding that “Ohinoyi has the experience, knowledge, and humility to help to develop Ebiraland. Let him be the symbol of unity.”
Bello advised the new Oniony to bring everybody together, telling him that “you don’t belong to anybody, you don’t belong to any clan. You belong to Islam, Christianity, our culture and tradition, and everybody.”
The governor further advised the new Ohinoyi to work with the Chairman, Kogi State Council of Chiefs and Atta Igala, and other rulers in Kogi and Nigeria to bring peace and development to Ebiraland.
In his acceptance speech, the new Ohinoyi urged unity among all Ebira people just as he accepted the advice of the governor, saying I belong to nobody, I belong to everybody.
He expressed appreciation to Governor Bello for his commitment to developing the state, just as he also praised President Bola Tinubu for reviving the Ajaokuta Steel Company.
Ohinoyi Ahmed Onaje pledged loyalty to both the state and Federal Government and declared to the Ebira people that he would serve them to the best of his ability.
Alhaji Ahmed Anaje emerged as the fifth Ohinoyi from the seven successful contestants selected by kingmakers from Ebiraland.
No fewer than 75 persons, including a female professor, Angela Okatahi, the first female professor in Egbiraland, aspired for the vacant stool, but the kingmakers pruned down the list to seven.
The seven contestants who scaled the king makers’ screening include a former Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Dr. Philip Salawu; a former Clerk of the National Assembly, Ataba Omolori; and a retired military general, Yusuf Amuda, Momoh Shaibu, Prof. Ibrahim Onuwe Abdulmalik, Dr. Ahmad Tijani Anaje and Mr. Ahmed Momohjimoh.
But Governor Bello on Monday, January 9, 2024, announced Alhaji Ahmed Anaje as the new Ohinoyi of Ebiraland.
He succeeded Alhaji (Dr.) Ado Ibrahim, who died on October 29, 2023, was the second Ohinoyi or the fourth independent traditional ruler of Ebiraland.
The late Alhaji Ado Ibrahim reigned for 25 years having been crowned in 1997.
