THE lingering controversy over the conferment of chieftaincy titles on Senator Ifeanyi Ubah by some traditional rulers in Anambra State is not about to die down, as the Obi of Onitsha and Chairman of Anambra State Council of Traditional Rulers, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, has accused the government of disrespecting the state’s traditional institution.
Recall that Igwe Damian Ezeani, one of the monarchs that honoured Ubah, was suspended by the state government to violating its directives. He has since apologised and withdrew the title on Ubah.
Igwe Ebelendu of Agulezechukwu in Aguata Local Council and Igwe Mbamalu of Ojoto in Idemili South Local Council, who also conferred titles on the senator, have apologised to the governor for their action.
The government has stated that the conferment of the titles on Ubah contravened the state traditional rulers’ code, which outlines the rules and regulations regarding the granting and revocation of chieftaincy titles.
But in his reaction to the saga, addressed to the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Town Union Matters, Mr. Collins Nwabunwanne, Achebe urged the government to exercise the powers with due sensitivity and humaneness, saying the commissioner’s statement that a minority of traditional rulers had demonstrated a penchant for trading chieftaincy titles for money, which has brought the traditional institution to ridicule and disrepute, was insulting.
According to Achebe: “You publicly visited the sins of an unrecognised self-acclaimed traditional ruler on the entire state traditional institution, to which he does not belong.
“Without providing evidence for your sweeping statement about trading chieftaincy titles for money, you also, wittingly or not, indicted the entire traditional institution of the state.
“The tone and language of your letter were, by any measure, a public riot act and pontification to the same majority of traditional rulers that you extolled as acting with dignity and integrity.
“The letter lacked respect and sensitivity in addressing the traditional rulers of Anambra State who, by any standard, are held in very high esteem in the comity of the traditional institutions of Nigeria and beyond.
“Your letter also stated that lgwe Damian Ezeani, as the traditional ruler of Neni, conferred such a phantom chieftaincy title on one Senator Ifeanyi Ubah in violation of the Code of Conduct and without clearance from the Ministry.
“The Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council (ASTRC) cannot yet take a view on the violation of the Code of Conduct until it receives a report from the ad-hoc committee it set up to meet with lgwe Neni. Nevertheless, it is very manifestly presented above that no written directives on the conferment of chieftaincy titles existed before January 8, 2024 when lgwe Neni was suspended.
“Your reference to a second-term senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as ‘one Senator Ifeanyi Ubah’ is most disrespectful, offensive and unbecoming of one holding a political office as commissioner.
“It is noteworthy that a person can only qualify to contest elections after scaling through the highest level of security checks at the federal level. Furthermore, Ubah holds a chieftaincy title of his hometown, Nnewi, conferred on him by his monarch and Grand Patron of the Anambra State traditional institution, His Majesty, lgwe Kenneth O. Orizu. He is also a well-known business investor in Anambra State and a generous philanthropist.
“Thus, assuming that lgwe Neni did not strictly comply with the Code of Conduct, would the foregoing factors not be sufficiently extenuating to warrant a far less sanction on him as was meted to some other traditional rulers that also failed to comply?
“The severity of suspension and threat of withdrawal of Certificate of Recognition suggests that there may be other issues with either lgwe Neni or Ubah, which are being stealthily ventilated in this circumstance.
“I would like to state very clearly that your handling of this matter of conferment of honourary chieftaincy titles is the apogee of the progressive dehumanisation and dismantling of the traditional institution of Anambra State by the present administration.”
