Asaba, the Delta State capital, was agog on Saturday as governors, deputy governors, political leaders, traditional rulers, religious leaders, captains of industry and other dignitaries from across the country converged for the wedding ceremony of Innocent Oborevwori, son of Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, to his heartthrob, Tobore Arigbodi, daughter of Chief Brodericks Arigbodi.
Among the governors who graced the occasion were AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, Monday Okpebholo of Edo State, Douye Diri of Bayelsa State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State, Ahmed Usman Ododo of Kogi State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State, Uba Sani of Kaduna State, Ahmad Aliyu of Sokoto State and Mohammed Umar Bago of Niger State.
First Ladies from several states, including Kwara, Kogi, Gombe, Taraba, Nasarawa, Cross River, Ekiti, Sokoto, Kaduna, Borno, Bauchi, Abia, Osun, Edo and Imo, were also in attendance.
The ceremony also attracted the Deputy Governor of Delta State, Sir Monday Onyeme; Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Patricia Obila; and the Deputy Governor of Kano State, alongside other senior government officials and political leaders.
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, was among the dignitaries who attended the wedding.
Other prominent personalities at the occasion included the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Chief Festus Keyamo; former Delta State governors, Chief James Ibori and Senator Ifeanyi Okowa; Senator Joel-Onowakpo Thomas; Senator Ede Dafinone; members of the National Assembly; the Minister of State for Health, Dr Tunji Alausa; the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Emomotimi Guwor; former speakers of the Assembly; and the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka.
Traditional rulers at the ceremony included the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom, HRM Major General Felix Mujakperuo (retd.); the Olu of Warri, HRM Atuwatse III; and the Dein of Agbor, HRM Keagborekuzi II and a host of others.
Also present were the Chairman of Access Bank Plc, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede; the Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc, Dr Adaora Umeoji; UBA MD Oliver Alawuba; Managing Director of PremiumTrust Bank, Emmanuel Efe Emefienem; and other captains of industry.
The solemnisation of the marriage was held at the Living Faith Church (Winners’ Chapel), Ibusa Road, Asaba, where the State Pastor, Pastor Shiyanbade Adekunle, charged the newlyweds to build their marriage on wisdom, sacrificial love, mutual respect and commitment.
Adekunle, in his sermon, described wisdom as the “working capital of marriage”, stressing that couples must rely on God and His Word to successfully navigate the different seasons of married life.
At the reception held at the Event Centre, Asaba, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State, who chaired the occasion, congratulated the couple and their families on the union.
Sani described the wedding as more than a celebration of love, saying it represented the coming together of two families, histories and destinies.
“It is with profound joy and a deep sense of privilege that I stand before you today as chairman of this beautiful reception, celebrating a union that has brought together two families, two histories and two destinies in the sacred covenant of matrimony,” he said.
The governor said the occasion marked the fulfilment of parental hopes and the beginning of a new chapter in the lives of the couple, who had chosen to walk through life together.
“May your home be a place of peace when the world is at war, a place of laughter when days are hard, and a place of prayer when challenges come,” he said.
He concluded by congratulating the couple and wishing them a long, fruitful and beautiful marital journey.
The wedding brought together political leaders across party lines, traditional rulers, business leaders and religious figures, turning Asaba into a gathering point for Nigeria’s political, business, traditional and religious elite.
