The official date for the commencement of activities for the burial of the longest reigning monarch in Rivers State, His Serene Majesty, King Prof. T.J.T Princewill, Amachree the XI and Amanyanabo of the Kalabari Kingdom has been fixed for the 29th and the 30th of November.
The son of the late monarch, Prince Tonye T.J.T Princewill, confirmed this in a statement issued to journalists.
Prince Tonye also disclosed that the date which signals the commencement of 21 days of ceremonies was agreed upon following consultations with various levels of Chiefs in the royal family, as well as titled chiefs in Buguma and Kalabari land .
He also confirmed that other stakeholders like Amanyanabo of Abonemma, King Disrael Bob Manuel, King Alfred Diete Spiff, the Amanyanabo of Twon Brass, other Kalabari leaders and key non Kalabari stakeholders were consulted in arriving at the date.
Prince Tonye T.J.T Princewill further said a formal burial committee will now be inaugurated to commence work towards a ensuring a befitting burial for his Serene Majesty, King Prof. T.J.T Princewill, Amachree the XI and Amanyanabo of the Kalabari Kingdom.
Members of the committee are expected to cut across the length and breadth of the Kalabari Kingdom, other Kingdoms in Rivers state, Ijaw nation as a whole, the wider pan Niger Delta region and other regions in Nigeria. The King was of course a pan Nigerian who spent several of his years in Northern Nigeria.