| Urhobo Historical Society |
| Report of Tour of Branches of Urhobo Progress Union by Chief T. E. A. Salubi, President-General, 1964 |
As an organization, Urhobo Progress Union subsists on the strength of its branches. At those points in its illustrious — but sometimes turbulent — history when the Union was buoyant, it also experienced considerable expansion and vigour of its branches. Managing the relationship between the Home Union at Warri and the far-flung branches has always been a challenge facing the Union since its inception in the early 1930s.
It was largely in recognition of the need to maintain a healthy relationship between the Home Union and the Branches, that it was mandated in the 1930s that the President-General of Urhobo Progress Union should undertake a tour of the Branches at least once during his tenure in office. However, only two Presidential Tours have ever been undertaken, The first was by Chief Mukoro Mowoe in 1946. The second Presidential Tour was by Chief T. E. A. Salubi in 1964.
Various accounts have surfaced on Chief Mukoro Mowoe’s 1946 Presidential Tour of the Branches of Urhobo Progress Union. While a few of these are written (thus see Obaro Ikime at http://waado.org/Biographies/Mowoe/MowoeBiography_Ikime/ChapFour_Leader.html), most of these accounts are ancedotal and have become part of Urhobo folklore. However, there is little that has appeared with regard to the second Presidential Tour. This is ironic because those who planned it — principally Chief T. E. A. Salubi and Mr. Gordon Mukoro — made sure that their tour would be as fully documented as possible. Indeed, they wrote up a detailed report that was circulated to the Branches. It is that report that we now publish here for the first time. Urhobo Historical Society thanks Dr. Thomas Edogbeji Akpomudiare Salubi, Chief T. E. A. Salubi’s heir, for making this report available for publication.
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