In its 2004 Annual Conference held at Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun, Urhobo Historical Society was most honoured by the attendance of a venerable Urhobo elderly statesman who was then in his late nineties. Chief T. Ogagan of Uvwie enlivened discussions of the need to study and promote Urhobo language. He came back in 2005 and 2006 to our subsequent Conferences to the delight of the audiences in these Conferences that admired his patriotism and wisdom. Chief Ogagan could not come back to our 2009 Conference because he had passed away to the Great Beyond. Urhobo Historical Society was strongly represented at his funeral.

In the 2009 Conferences we had multiple venerable participants at our Thanksgiving Ceremony at Ovu. Urhobo Historical Society had bestowed its highest honour on two towering figures in past Urhobo history. First, Chief L. U. Ighomrore of Uvwie, an elder  cousin the late Chief T. Ogagan, is historically credited for being the individual who helped to acquire the Uvwie lands on which Urhobo College was built in the 1940s. He served as the first Bursar of Urhobo College. He is credited with helping the admission of many Uvwie young boys, including the late Professor Omafume Onoge, into Urhobo College. He is a hero of the Uvwie people. Now in his late nineties and visually-impaired, Chief Ighomrore lives at Effurun surrounded by relatives who take good care of him

Second, Chief Gordon Mukoro of Ughievwen was selected for the same honour as Chief L. U. Ighomrore. Chief Gordon Mukoro began his early working life in the early 1950s as a court clerk. Irritated by policies which he thought were harmful to his people, Mukoro left Government service to work for Urhobo Progress Union where he was employed as for many years as Under-Secretary. He worked directly with Chief T. E. A. Salubi, then President-General of the Union. Chief Gordon Mukoro had a large reputation for keeping records and for producing excellent minutes of the UPU's affairs. He later became President of Customary Courts in several Urhobo districts. He helped to codify Urhobo customary laws. Chief Mukoro was said to be born in about 1919, making him about ninety years of age at the time of the Ovu gathering.

These two venerable elders were joined by Chief Israel Salubi, the younger brother of Chief T. E. A. Salubi. Israel Salubi was mainly responsible for the department that supplied electricity to the community of the University of Ibadan from the 1950s till he retired in the 1980s. Israel Salubi was also born in 1919 and is now in his early nineties. He is currently the elder of the Salubi family and is deeply respected in his hometown of Ovu.

All three of these venerable gentlemen were delighted to meet again. The reunion between Chief L. U. Ighomrore and Chief Gordon Mukoro was especially emotional as they recounted to each other memories of their activities in Urhobo affairs in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. The audience applauded them as they were introduced and as they received their awards.