Obiano’s Kinsmen Dethrone 2 Suspended Monarchs
The political face-off between Anambra state governor, Chief Willie Obiano and a faction of traditional rulers loyal to billionaire oil mogul, Prince Arthur Eze, took a new twist as subjects declared the suspended traditional rulers of Eziaguleri-Otu and Mkpunando communities dethroned.
Orient Daily gathered that youths and elders from Aguleri community in Anambra East local government area, last Monday, staged a peaceful protest, urging the state government to formally revoke the traditional rulership certificates of Alex Edozieuno and Ikegunam Udoji for their participation in the recent controversial trip to Abuja.
Recall that, last week, the Anambra state government, acting on the recommendation of Anambra state Traditional Rulers’ Council, suspended 12 traditional rulers, including those of Eziaguleri-Otu and Mkpunando, for 12 months, over what it called misconduct and violation of the traditional rulers’ council tenets. They were, among others, accused of travelling out of the state in official capacities without due consultation and clearance, an allegation some of them dismissed as political vendetta.
The monarchs had said that their visit was to thank President Buhari for his administration’s development strides in the South East and then plead for more.
The Aguleri protesters carried placards with inscriptions ‘We want Igwe Edozieuno and Igwe Udoji removed’, ‘Igwe Eziaguluotu must be removed now’, ‘Edozieuno and Udoji are no more Igwe’ and so on.
The demonstration, which reportedly took place simultaneously at Mkpunando and Enugwu-Otu, saw a large crowd of youths, elders and women from the communities convene at the Aguleri junction, Otuocha before they headed to the ‘Obu Gad’ to consult “Ndi oji ani Aguleri” where the fate of the embattled monarchs were said to have been sealed.
According to a statement posted by an All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, chieftain, Evang Chinedu Obigwe, “The protesters moved straight to Obu Gad where major decision are taken in Aguleri and, after lodging their complaints to ndi ichie and Ojiana Aguleri, it was resolved that, as from today, Igwe Udorji Okike of Eziagulu Otu Aguleri and Igwe Alex Edoziuno of Mkpunando Aguleri have been dethroned as traditional rulers and that they should not parade themselves again as traditional rulers.”
The statement saw the involvement of the two monarchs from Governor Obiano’s constituency as a “shameful act of sabotage and backstabbing” which the community condemned.
An eyewitness of the protest, Ike Ochie, told this paper that the protest received massive support because the action of the monarchs was considered as a betrayal of the entire Aguleri people.
On the justification for the dethronements, Ochie argues: “There was no justification for Aguleri monarchs to join those people against Governor Obiano. Why didn’t the Igwe of Arthur Eze community join them? If Arthur did not take his own Igwe, why should Igwe from Aguleri join them? Obviously, they did it to spite Obiano but they also betrayed Aguleri people. What they did was sacrilegious”, he stressed.
He disclosed, however, that “The two of them were already having problems with their subjects and this certainly sealed their fate. He cited Igwe Alex Edoziuno whom he claimed had land issues over which the youths of the community were out “to deal with him.”
When Orient Daily contacted Igwe Peter Udoji of Eziagulu-Otu Aguleri, he said he was not disturbed by the protest. His words: “I am not disturbed by their protests and name calling. What preoccupies my mind now is how to explain myself to our brother, Governor Willie Obiano; to make him understand that I have no bad intention against him,” he said.
On his part, when contacted, Igwe Alex Edoziuno of Mkpunando Aguleri, said he was not in good mood to talk to the media.
https://orientdailynews.com/ge....opolis/anambra/anamb
