By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukwu
President General of the Okpe Union (Worldwide), Prof. Igho Natufe, has condemned a press statement by some political figures declaring that Okpe is Urhobo, describing it as fraudulent, misleading, and a treasonable act against the Okpe nation.
He disclosed this while speaking at a press conference today, at the Nigeria Union of Journalists Press Centre, Warri, Prof. Natufe said the statement, issued at Orerokpe on July 30 by Chief Isaac Itebu, Chief Robert Onome, Mr. Harrison Ekeleme, and Mr. Moses Odiete, was an illegitimate attempt to speak on behalf of the Okpe ethnic nationality.
Natufe explained that Chief Itebu, First Deputy President General of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) and a recent defector from the PDP to the APC, was not a member of any branch of the Okpe Union and therefore lacked the capacity to speak for the Okpe people.
On Chief Onome, Natufe recalled that his tenure as Okpe Union President General ended in November 2020, with a brief 47-day extension by court order expiring in April 2025.
He noted that the Federal High Court, Abuja, had ordered the Corporate Affairs Commission to expunge Onome’s name from the list of Okpe Union trustees appointed by an illegal interim executive.
He added that the Okpe People’s Forum suspended Onome from its membership after learning he endorsed the controversial press statement.
Addressing Mr. Ekeleme’s involvement, Natufe said he had completed his tenure as President General of Amuokpe District on April 6, 2025, and could not legitimately claim to represent the 13 districts of Okpe Kingdom. He also criticised Mr. Odiete, President of the Okpe Youths Council, for aligning with political actors against the wishes of the majority of Okpe youths.
Natufe alleged that at the Orerokpe event, the organisers admitted to playing politics, and their statement’s political tone confirmed it. He faulted their call for Okpe to fuse with Urhobo in support of the APC and President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, warning that such declarations undermine democracy and Okpe identity.
He accused them of seeking to disrupt the teaching of the Okpe language in schools, dismissing their claim that it was merely a dialect of Urhobo. Natufe stressed that the Okpe language, recognised by the National Educational Research and Development Council, is already being taught in public schools in Okpe and Sapele LGAs.
Citing historical evidence, Natufe traced the misclassification of Okpe as Urhobo to British colonial administrative arrangements for convenience, not ethnicity. He explained that Okpe leaders had long defended their distinct ethnic and linguistic identity, supported by research from the University of Ibadan and Delta State University.
He emphasised that Okpe and Urhobo have separate ancestry and migration histories, with Okpe tracing its roots to Prince Igboze in the 16th century, distinct from Urhobo’s earlier migration from Benin.
Natufe noted that participation by some Okpe individuals in the UPU was a matter of personal choice, not a mandate from the Okpe nation, and historically occurred only when the UPU functioned as a political rather than cultural body.
He praised Okpe leaders, academics, and nationals who published rejoinders condemning the “Okpe is Urhobo” claim, including Prof. Kenneth Efakponana Eni, Prof. Evans Akpo, Dr. Charles Okorodudu, AVM (Rtd) Frank Ajobena, and author Akporhene Peter Ukiri.
“These rejoinders unanimously reaffirm that Okpe is a distinct ethnic nationality and language, not subordinate to any other group,” Natufe said.
He vowed that the Okpe Union would continue to defend its identity, language, and heritage against any attempt to subsume it under another ethnic group for political gain.