Ogiame Atuwatse III, the Olu of Warri, is the youngest traditional monarch to be so awarded with the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic national honour, the second highest national honour in Nigeria, palace sources said yesterday.
This is against an earlier report in some national dailies where former president Olusegun Obasanjo in his congratulatory message to the president of Azikel Group, Dr Eruani Azibapu Godbless, described him as the youngest recipient in CFR national honour.
However, reliable palace sources said the report in sections of the media was not correct and noted that the Olu of Warri is the youngest to be awarded CFR in living memory.
“We were taken aback to read in some mainstream publications and online media which reported that Dr Eruani Azibapu is 48 years old and therefore is the youngest to be honored with the CFR award and it is incorrect. Just to set the records straight, the Warri monarch is 38 years old and that makes him the youngest ever to be given the CFR by President Muhammadu Buhari a few days ago.
“Our main concern as stated earlier is to set the records straight and not to engage in any controversy or join issues with Dr Azibapu whom we hold in high esteem just like any other recipient.”
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