Senator for Delta South, James Manager knelt for former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori as a sign of respect in Urhobo culture, an associate of the senator has revealed.
The Punch quoted the unnamed associate as stating this on Friday.
Recall that a photo that showed Senator Manager kneeling beside a sitting Ibori went viral earlier in the day.
Ibori was governor of Delta from 1999 to 2007 but later went to prison in the United Kingdom for fraud and embezzlement of the state’s resources.
On the other hand, Manager has been a senator since 2003.
Reacting to the photo, the associate said that the incident occurred on Wednesday when the senator went visiting the former governor.
“Senator went to visit him on Wednesday. Ibori is a senior, a king and an elder to him, being his former boss. Whenever you go to pay homage to an Urhobo elder or someone you hold in high esteem, you kneel down. It is a sign of appreciation for people to show who the person is to you. Things are just being twisted on social media. It is a personal relationship. You don’t expect the senator to stand up to address Ibori.
“Senator came to pay homage to him because he had not seen Ibori in a long time and he took drinks. Those are the drinks you see on the table in the picture,” the associate said.
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