Immediate past Traditional Ruler of Aro Kingdom and Eze Aro, His Royal Majesty, Mazi Ogbonnaya Okoro, will be buried on April 5, 2021.
The first class traditional ruler, Mazi Okoro died after 25 years of ruling the Arochukwu kingdom.
An official burial announcement by Prof Okoro Ijoma and Mazi Anicho Okoro, chairman and secretary of Aro National Rites of Passage Committee respectively, disclosed that the burial ceremony will begin on April 2 and end April 5, 2021.
The official funeral announcement made available to journalists on Friday read, “The Aro Kingdom, Abia State of Nigeria hereby announces the passage of the custodian of the Aro heritage and Eze Aro of Arochukwu, His Majesty, Mazi Ogbonnaya Okoro, CFR.
“Eze Ogbonnaya Okoro joined our ancestors and the Aro saints after a brief ‘ovia uwasi’.
“Before ascending the throne, Mazi Ogbonnaya Okoro, who trained in the United Kingdom as a Medical Laboratory Scientist, was pioneer head of Department of Laboratory Technology at the University of Nigeria Teaching hospital, Enugu.
“He retired as the Chief Medical Laboratory Scientist at the UNN in 1988 to ascend the throne.
“The Igbo weeklong rites of passage of His Majesty, Mazi Ogbonnaya Okoro, CFR, will take place from Friday, 2nd to Monday, 5th April, 2021.
“The climax of the funeral rites will hold on Monday, 5th April at the Arochukwu Civic and Cultural Center, Oror, Arochukwu by 10 am.”
Among other positions, late Eze Ogbonnaya Okoro was the custodian of the Aro heritage worldwide.
Activities lined up for the burial includes; mourning for all Aros, performance from the Ekpe society, performance from some women counterpart in the community.
Also, there would be a rite conducted round the entire village and on the last day of the burial proceedings, the Eze’s body will be laid to rest with 21-gunshot salute.
The organisers further noted that no fewer than nineteen villages of the Aro Kingdom will perform with their various dance troupes.
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