Oba of Benin rejects Esan woman, Pst. Josephine Ibhaguezejele, as Iye-Eki in Benin markets, says "Iyaloja" is alien in Benin

Crusaderhotnews

By Gidigba Group

We can confirm that His Royal Majesty, Omo n'Oba n'Edo, Uku Akpolokplo, Ewuare II, Oba of Benin, has outrightly rejected the illegal Iye-Eki of Benin markets, Pst. Josephine Ibhaguezejele.

The development came about when the illegal Iye-Eki led a delegation to the Oba Palace on Tuesday, to thank the Omo n'Oba for accepting them, they were however shocked when His Royal Majesty, the Oba of Benin, rejected the Iyaloja title, which Madam Josephine has been parading around town. 

Omo n'Oba expressed that whereas "Iyaloja" is alien to the Benin custom and tradition, only a Benin woman can occupy the position of Iye-Eki in markets in Benin—signposting the Esan woman, Josephine Ibhaguezejele, as an impostor. 

Recall that last week, Edo market women of Benin extraction trooped to the street to express their displeasure over the taboo ravaging Edo markets by virtue of Pst. Josephine Ibhaguezejele, parading herself as Iye-Eki—the women begged the Oba of Benin, Edo governor Monday Okpebholo, to reverse the abomination. 

They have asked that Josephine Ibhaguezejele, who operates no verifiable market in Benin and unknown across markets in the State, be stopped from parading herself as Iye-Eki in Benin City. 

The women noted that "Madam Blacky Ogiame, a descendant of Emotan is leader of market women in Edo State—Blacky however respects boundary and as such, does not interfere in market leadership in Edo Central and Edo North".

That "only in the event of death or voluntary resignation can Madam Blacky be replaced". 

"For emphasy sake, Iye-Eki is not a political appointment, neither is it public service where hire and fire is common place—it is a traditional portfolio, tied to the Oba of Benin, exclusively preserved for a Benin woman", they said. 

The news of Omo n'Oba's rejection of "Iyaloja" in markets in Benin has been applauded, signalling a shift in the illegitimate leadership currently bedeviling markets in Edo South.