Former President Goodluck Jonathan has accepted an invitation to the September coronation of King Charles Douglas MacPepple Jaja, Jeki VI, the Amanyanabo-Elect of Opobo Kingdom, and described the historic Niger Delta monarchy as an institution of enduring significance.
Jonathan confirmed his attendance when he received Jaja and members of the Opobo Council of Alapu at his residence in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The meeting provided an opportunity for the traditional delegation to formally invite the former President to the coronation and discuss issues affecting the Niger Delta.
Jonathan said he was honoured by the visit and congratulated the monarch-elect on his emergence.
“Opobo Kingdom is a place with history, and this visit is a big honour,” he said. “We will come to honour you back.”
Jaja explained that the delegation considered a visit to Jonathan important because of his connection to the region and the historical significance of the former President’s office.
“We cannot coronate an Opobo monarch without coming to see you,” the monarch told Jonathan.
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The coronation is fixed for Saturday, September 26, 2026, and will form the centrepiece of a ten-day programme scheduled to run from September 18 to 27.
A statement issued by Chris Finebon, Chairman of the Media, Publicity and Digital Archives Sub-Committee of the Opobo Kingdom Coronation Committee, said the ceremony is expected to attract traditional rulers, political leaders, members of the diplomatic community, business figures, and Opobo indigenes from Nigeria and abroad.
The royal transition carries historical weight because the Opobo monarchy traces its origins to King Jaja of Opobo, who emerged as a prominent political and commercial figure in the 19th-century Niger Delta.
Following the Bonny civil conflict in the late 1860s, Jaja and his associates established Opobo as a political and commercial centre. The kingdom subsequently developed an influential trading network around the palm-oil trade.
Jaja entered into a commercial treaty with Britain in 1873, through which he was formally recognised as King of Opobo. His growing influence later brought him into conflict with British commercial and imperial interests. He was arrested and exiled in 1887.
The present succession follows the death of King Dandeson Douglas Jaja. Charles Douglas MacPepple Jaja subsequently emerged as Amanyanabo-Elect and is scheduled to assume the throne formally at the September 26 ceremony.
Jonathan’s acceptance adds political prominence to an event that the kingdom has framed as a celebration of its history, traditional institution, and continuing place in the cultural life of the Niger Delta.
