The Rebisi Kingdom in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area is made up of seven (7) Ancestral Communities namely Oro- Olozu, Oro-Worukwo, Oro-Abali, Oro- Ogbum, Oro- Meruezimgbu, Oro-Ochiri and Oro-Ada Communities. The stool of Eze Epara Rebisi kingdom was formally established as a traditional stool in 1973, but prior to 1973, the Rebisi kingdom was solely administered under the leadership of the Paramount Traditional Owhor Holder who was seen and known as Nyenweli Rebisi, and mediates between the ancestors and the people of Rebisi. 3. In 1948, the then Paramount Traditional Owhor Holder, Late Elder Elikwu Woluchem, appointed Late Victor Weli Woluchem as the Chief (Eze) of Rebisi Kingdom charged with the responsibility of the administration of the Kingdom, while the Paramount Traditional Owhor Holder still maintains the duty of ancestral worship of the deity, thereby creating the emergence of the separation between the Paramount Traditional Owhor Holder and the Administrative Chief. 4. That Eze Victor Weli Woluchem held the position until the death of the Paramount Traditional Owhor Holder, Late Elder Elikwu Woluchem, in 1952, and thereafter, Elder Philip Elikwu Nnaji who is the uncle to Barr. Uche Elikwu took over as the Paramount Traditional Owhor Holder of Rebisi Kingdom. 5. That the system of the Paramount Traditional Owhor Holder of Rebisi and the Chief (Eze) of Rebisi remained until 1973 when Rebisi kingdom decided to form council of Chiefs, and the committee then created for that purpose recommended that the seven (7) Communities in Rebisi Kingdom should produce specified number of chiefs as follows-: i) Oro-Olozu Community, the 1st son of Rebisi, to produce six (6) chiefs; ii) Oro-Worukwo Community to produce six (6) chiefs; iii) Oro-Abali Community to produce six chiefs; iv) Oro-Ogbum Community to produce six (6) chiefs; v) Oro-Meruezimgbu Community to produce four (4) chiefs; vi) Oro-Ochiri Community to produce four (4) chiefs; and vii) Oro-Ada Community to produce four (4) chiefs. 6. That each of the Communities in Rebisi Kingdom shared their respective slots given to them by the committee amongst their families. 7. That Oro-Olozu Community, the 1st son of Rebisi, shared its own six (6) slots amongst the families as follows-: i) Oro-Oduwenyeoma, the 1st son of Olozu, was given two (2) slots; ii) Oro-Agholu, the 2nd son of Olozu, was given two (2) slots; iii) Oro-Etitinwo, the 3rd son of Olozu, was given one (1) slot; and iv) Oro-Ibe, the 4th son of Olozu, was given One (1) slot. 8. That Oro-Oduwenyeoma, the 1st son of Olozu, is made up of three (3) houses; namely, Woluchem, Elikwu Nnaji and Orwu, and the two (2) slots given to Oro- Oduwenyeoma family were shared between the houses of Woluchem and Elikwu Nnaji, while Orwu being the descendants of a female child do not hold owhor or chieftaincy title. 9. That list of names of chiefs were submitted by the Communities to the Committee, and the Committee further recommended that titles should be ascribed or given to the various Chieftaincy stools produced by the Communities. 10. That on this recommendation above, the Woluchem house took on the title of “Eze Epara Rebisi” being the 1st son of Olozu, who in turn was the 1st son of Rebisi, while the Elikwu Nnaji house took on the title of “Eze Oduwenyeoma”. 11. That the coronations of the chiefs from the various communities were done in 1973, and as the custom and tradition demands, it was Elder Philip Elikwu Nnaji, who was then the Paramount Traditional Owhor Holder of Rebisi that performed the coronation of Eze Victor Weli Woluchem as the Eze Epara Rebisi. And it is also the same Elder Philip Elikwu Nnaji as the Paramount Owhor Holder of Rebisi who installed Late Chief Timothy Elikwu as the Eze Oduwenyeoma of Rebisi. 12. That Eze Victor Weli Woluchem died in 1975, and in 1977, after the period of mourning, there was need to appoint a new Eze Epara Rebisi, and it was the same Elder Philip Elikwu Nnaji, the Paramount Traditional Owhor Holder, that appointed and coronated Eze Sunday Nnanta Woluchem as the Eze Epara Rebisi XI. 13. That it is and has been the traditional duty and/or responsibility of the Paramount Traditional Owhor Holder to appoint and coronate Eze Epara Rebisi, and it has never been by election or screening, and from time immemorial, the chieftaincy stools of Eze Epara Rebisi and Eze Oduwenyeoma have been permanently in the houses of Woluchem and Elikwu Nnaji respectively, and does not alternate between the two houses, but the Paramount Traditional Owhor Holder’s position can be held by either the Woluchem or the Elikwu Nnaji house
Posted on: Fri, 06 Sep 2013 16:31:41 +0000
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