The alleged attempt by the state government to impose a traditional ruler on Eziani in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State is brewing tension in the community.
The traditional stool of the community had been under contention since June last year, thus polarising the community into different camps, leading to an uneasy calm in the area, reports have said.
The state Commissioner for Chieftaincy Matters, Pastor Emeka Abagu, was, however, said to have invited all the candidates who had indicated interest in the vacant position for an amicable resolution of the matter after the government had asked them to pay alleged nomination fees of N100,000 each at an undisclosed hotel in Enugu, the state capital, Vanguard reports.
Aspirants who reportedly attended the meeting included Chief Tony Ezema, Chief George Okolo, Chief Matthew Gingeni and Chief Alphonsus Ugwoke.
Sources, however, told Vanguard that the meeting could not hold as the Commissioner for Chieftaincy Matters, Pastor Abugu, simply used the occasion to appoint Chief Ezema as the traditional ruler of Ezeani, without due process or recourse to the selection processes in the community.
The commissioner’s action was alleged to have triggered massive revolt in the area as most of the quarters in the community have vowed to protest the government’s action.
