Indigenes of Nkomoro Community, in Ezza North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, on Wednesday staged a peaceful protest over plans to impose Chief Jacob Nwakpa as the new traditional ruler of the area.
The community took to the streets of Abakiliki metropolis with different placards calling on the state governor, Francis Nwifuru, and the state Commissioner of Police, Augustina Ogbodo, to wade into the kingship tussle in the area to prevent further breakdown of law and other.
The protesting community urged the state Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters to allow them to freely choose and elect their new monarch.
They alleged that internal and external forces have vowed to impose on them a former Resident Electoral Commissioner in the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Jacob Nwakpa was a former INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner.
Traditional prime minister of the community, Livinus Eze, who was among the community leaders that led the protesters said: “We are hearing that one of our illustrious son, Jacob Nwakpa, has been made traditional ruler of our community.
“We are surprised to hear this because there are processes that must be followed before a traditional ruler emerged in the community and those processes were not followed.
“We have eight kindreds in the community and each of the kindreds must bring four persons who will nominate who will be a traditional ruler in our community.
“When these kindreds nominate the traditional ruler, they will bring the person to the entire community for approval. This is how it is done in our community and not what some selfish and greedy politicians want to do.
“We are hearing on radio that a traditional ruler has been chosen in our community and that he will be coronated on Saturday, May 11, 2024, this week. This is why we are protesting against it. The right thing must be followed and that is what we want.
“We have not chosen our traditional ruler, we are still mourning our traditional ruler who died a year ago. We don’t want trouble, we want peace in Nkomoro community.”
Addressing the protesters in his office, the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Uchenna Igwe, assured them that their matter would be looked into.
He noted that the present administration in the state is enthroning peace and reconciliation in all parts of the state and urged them to ensure peace in their agitation.
“I want to inform you that there is no Ezeogo in Nkomoro community, there is no traditional ruler in that community.
“Anybody who wants to be a traditional ruler should go and consult his people and stand for election. Whoever that wants to contest should go and contest. At the end of the day, one person from that community will definitely emerge and the person that will emerge will be coronated.
” This is what we are doing, we don’t look at money, otherwise this peace we are enthroning in different parts of the state, you would have been seeing different things,” he stated.
When contacted, Jacob Nwakpa said he was not the one pushing for him to be the traditional ruler of the community but his people who approached him and begged him to be their king.
He noted that the community was divided into two clans and that according to its constitution, the Nkomoro traditional stool must rotate among the two clans of Izzi and Oriuzor.
Nwakpa who was former Chairman of Ezza North Local Government Area, averred that Izzi has been producing the traditional ruler of the community contrary to the constitution. This development, he said, made stakeholders of the community to insist that Oriuzor must produce the next traditional ruler.
Kingship tussle: Protests rock Ebonyi community over plans to impose monarch