The disagreement over the Kingship that affected the Igbo community in Akwa Ibom State for over 29 years has finally been resolved, as the DAILY POST news organization has learned.
This resolution comes as the community has scheduled November 15 to celebrate the eventual return of peace and togetherness in the state at the Ibom Halls grounds, a sense of unity that had been missing for almost three decades.
Addressing a press briefing in Uyo, the capital city of Akwa Ibom State, on Wednesday at the Union’s office, the President of the Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, Akwa Ibom State chapter, Honourable Kaceey Chidiadi, said the event, which is themed: “Peace and Progress; A Panacea for Progress and Development,” was planned to demonstrate that calmness leads to advancement and growth in society.
He expressed regret that Ohaneze had spent over Four Hundred Million Naira (N400M) on legal proceedings during the conflict, saying that the money could have been used for the development of the union if harmony had existed.
Chidiadi stated that the first priority of the current leadership was to establish a reconciliatory committee, led by the Vice Chairman, Chief Ogbonna Ukachukwu, who met with all the unhappy groups and proceeded to approach the court to withdraw all the pending cases (10) for a settlement outside of the courtroom.
His exact words were: “So the first action we took was to ask for the court’s permission to grant us the opportunity to go and resolve it, based on the fact that it was a disagreement concerning the community. Which, even if we had allowed it to be settled by the courts, they can only deliver final rulings, but they will still not provide peace. So, with the good judgment of the Chief Judge of the state and a few other judges, they instructed us to go and look into the matter and report back to them.”
“A document was written down, which was read aloud, so all the involved parties reviewed the document and were satisfied with it. Then they put their signatures on the documents and that is what we have achieved today.”
Giving a brief explanation of the core issue, the president said some individuals who claimed to be the Eze Igbo (king of the Igbos) in the state had followers in different camps who were fueling sentiments of division among the Igbo community. He said the conflicts had resulted in the death of important sons of the Igbos in the state.
Ukachukwu revealed that following extensive consultations with all the dissenting groups, it was unanimously agreed and formally certified that Eze Cyril Umeakuka (Eze CYC) is the Eze Ndigbo Gburugburu in Akwa Ibom and Eze Barth Okpala is the Eze Ndigbo in Uyo, while the position for Ikot Ekpene is on hold due to the death of Igwe Obed Mbonu.
He said the peace agreement has been officially recorded and will be revealed during the Igbo Unity Celebration, even as he disclosed that those who lost their lives during the crises would be honored posthumously on that specific day.
He added: “I can confidently say, there is nothing like different groups as far as Igbos are concerned in Akwa Ibom. Everyone has accepted the leadership they met.”
Regarding the accomplishments of his leadership, he said: “My administration has also ensured we have an appropriate Secretariat, a functional bank account for the organization, and is also planning to secure a permanent Secretariat for the Ohanaeze Ndigbo in the state. Previously we had only 11 chapters, now we have 27 chapters thanks to this leadership and we still need to officially launch the remaining four chapters to complete 31 chapters across the 31 local governments in the state.”
Also speaking, Chief Ogbonna Ukachukwu, the Chairman of the Reconciliatory Committee and Vice Chairman of the union, admitted that it was not an easy assignment to bring all the opposing groups to a discussion table, saying it required a great amount of patience and tolerance to achieve that.
Ukachukwu, who identified miscommunication as one of the factors that worsened the conflict, said the committee was able to solve the issue by establishing a neutral meeting place.
Chief Chukwuma Daniel, the Treasurer, for his part, described Akwa Ibom as a peaceful state, saying the Igbos have contributed significantly to the development of the state, even as he thanked the governor, Pastor Umo Eno, for creating a suitable environment for commerce to flourish and for recognizing them in his government.
Daniel dismissed the suggestions that Igbos are divided, saying that lasting harmony has returned and a strong, unbroken connection is now in place.
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