Traditional rulers in Anambra State have criticised the suspension of one of them, Igwe Damain Ezeani of Neni in the Anaocha council area of the state.
They claimed that they were neither contacted or notified of the code of conduct that Ezeani allegedly violated, resulting in his questionable suspension.
Anambra State Government had last week, through the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Hon. TonyCollins Nwabunwanne, suspended the traditional ruler of Neni, Damain Ezeani for conferring chieftaincy title on Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, who hails from neighbouring Nnewi Community.
The Government said the Neni monarch breached a code of conduct for conferring such titles, a claim the traditional rulers in the state have disagreed with.
Reacting to the suspension, the monarchs under the umbrella of Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council, wrote to the Government through the Commissioner, expressing their annoyance over the way and manner Government handled the matter.
In a 14-paragraph letter written by their chairman, Igwe Nnaemeka A. Achebe, CFR, Obi of Onitsha, they said that the traditional institution in the state “feels strongly that the present administration is progressively dehumanizing and depreciating the institution against the trend in the rest of the country where the Federal and State Governments accord dignity and respect to the institution.
“The traditional institution is mindful of the awesomeness of the executive power and authority in our democratic dispensation but prays fervently that such power and authority, which derive from God through the governed, should be exercised with due sensitivity and humaness over the governed”.
On the claim that Igwe Damain Ezeani violated the code of conduct and that he did not get clearance from the ministry before he conferred the title on Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, the monarchs said that from available records “it is very manifestly that no written directives from your ministry on conferment of chieftaincy titles existed before January 8, 2024, when Igwe Neni was suspended”.
The letter also quarreled with the description of Ifeanyi Ubah as “one Senator Ifeanyi Ubah”.
“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, distinguished Senator Ifeanyi Ubah holds a chieftaincy title of his hometown, Nnewi, conferred on him by his monarch and grand patron of Anambra State traditional institution, His Majesty, Igwe Kenneth O. Orizu. He is also a well known business investor in Anambra state and a generous philanthropist.