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Late K.B.Omatseye

Prince Kenekeneyero  Boyewa Omatseye of Sapele, Sapele Local Govvernment Area , Delta State, a prominent Prince of the Itsekiri royal family is dead. He was 92 years old.

The Itsekiri Prince who died in the early hours of Tuesday, 30^th April, 2019, was popularly and affectionately called just Prince K. B.

Mourning him, Chief James Onanefe Ibori said in a public statement signed by his Media Assistant, Tony Eluemunor that Chief Omatesye had been both a business and political icon who took to politics at a very young age. He was also a remarkable philanthropist.

According to Ibori, Omatseye has remained relevant in Nigerian politics since the First Republic.  He was right there in the thick of politics all through the Second Republic too as a chieftain of the National Party of Nigeria and in the Third Republic when he was a pillar of the National Republican Convention. Ibori said that Prince Omatseye was a mentor to younger politicians who came after him and that he Ibori personally gained from Omatseye’s great political wisdom and immense experience as he received profuse advice from him. Ibori said: “Prince Omateseye was our leader and father during the NRC/SDP Gen Babangida political transition era of the early 1990s”.

Ibori said that Omatseye was also a business mogul. The K.B. Omatseye Rubber Company, Amupke, which has remained one of the biggest business concerns in the entire Delta State, is the flagship of his numerous business concerns. The company has been processing rubber for export, adding value to raw rubber latex before exporting it. This served also as a guaranteed latex buyer to small scale rubber producers and kept them in business; no wonder the entire Sapele city was thrown into mourning when the news of his transition spread through it.

Ibori added that Chief Omatseye was a bridge builder who maintained in very close relationship with other political and business bigwigs across the country – moguls such as Chief Gabriel Igbenedion, the Esama of Benin.

He wished Omatseye’s family, which includes Temisan Omatseye, the former Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) the fortitude to bear this great loss and prayed for the sweet repose of his soul.