By Chuks Eke
Thee dethroned traditional ruler of Umuona community in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, Igwe Humphrey Ejesieme has said that he is innocent of the accusations leveled against him that led to the State Government’s withdrawal of his certificate of recognition.
He said if Soludo who hails from Isuofia, a neighbouring community to his own Umuona had given him fair hearing, Soludo would have discovered that the frivolous petition written against him by the President-General of Umuona Town Union, Chief Kenneth Okoli was ill conceived.
The state government had in June, 2023, though the Commissioner for Local Government, Town Union and Chieftaincy Matters , Tony Collins Nwabunwanne, withdrawn the certificate of recognition issued to Igwe Ejesieme in 2014 by former Governor Peter Obi and consequently declared the Chieftaincy stool vacant.
Through the government’s directive, a cross section of the community who welcomed the government action elected and crowned Chief Ikechukwu Ezeofor as their new traditional ruler in place of Ejesieme, while others who did not conform with the idea, boycotted the election exercise, even as government went ahead and issued Ezeofor with a certificate of recognition as the new traditional ruler of Umuona.
But speaking to newsmen yesterday in Hus palace ät Umuona, Igwe Ejesiema who insisted that he is still the Igweby virtue of government’s refusal to give him fair hearing, recalled that Kenneth Okoli had written a petition to the state government alleging that he stormed Umuona Civic Centre during their December 28 Annual General Meeting with armed thugs and wanted to attack him but he escaped by hurriedly leaving the high table where he was presiding over the meeting as PG and rushed home for fear of being attacked.l by the thugs.
Igwe Ejesieme who was elected and crowned as the traditional ruler of Umuona in 2013 and was presented with certificate of recognition on the 7th of March, 2014 by the then Governor Peter Obi, lamented that the state government, through the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Tony Collins Nwabunwanne just acted i swiftly on the petition written by Okoli and took a decision to withdraw his certificate.
He said trouble started in his kingdom when the leadership of the community’s town union early 2023 alleged that he invaded their meeting with thugs who wielded dangerous weapons.
Igwe Ejesieme said the allegations levied against him by the PG prompted the State government to withdraw his certificate of recognition on 13th June, 2023 without giving him a fair hearing, probably because the PG has two or three connections within Governor Soludo’s corridors of power..
Specifically, he mentioned Hon. Tony Muobuike representing one of the two constituencies in Aguata at the state House of Assembly who he said is an in-law to the PG and Ifeanyi Oguejiofor, Legal Advser to the Chieftaincy Affairs Ministry who he also said is an in-law to Ikechukwu Ezeofor,, the newly elected and crowned traditional ruler of the area who was issued with the certificate of recognition few weeks after withdrawing his own.
The Igwe explained that within his 10 years reign, he had embarked on massive development of his community and has maintained the peace until the recent negative turn of events.
He therefore appealed that Governor Charles Soludo should give him a fair hearing before wielding the big stick, adding that he is already in court to contest his dethronement is it related to the breach of his fundamental human rights.
