Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has banned the factional king of Awka Kingdom, Chief Austin Ndigwe from parading himself as monarch.
Soludo in a press release by the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Paul Nwosu, said the duly recognised monarch of Awka Kingdom is Obi Gibson Nwosu.
The statement read in part:
“It has come to the attention of Anambra State government that one Augustine Ndigwe, Alias Uzu Awka is parading himself as the authentic traditional ruler of Awka.
“Not only that, he is also taking steps to perform one of the major harvest seasons traditional rites known as New Yam festival, thereby threatening the peace and tranquility of the town.
“The state government will not tolerate this.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the state government wishes to state emphatically that the only recognized traditional ruler is His Royal Highness, Obi Gibson Nwosu, Eze Uzu II, whose recognition by the state government has not been withdrawn, and is the only one empowered by section 15 of the traditional rulers law of Anambra State, to preside over such festival or carry out the function of a traditional ruler in Awka.
There was commotion in Awka on Saturday morning, when a detachment of police and military men sealed the palace of Ndigwe who was billed to celebrate the community’s new yam festival.
The security operatives chased away guests and also shot canisters of teargas into the crowd, causing the guests to scamper for safety, leaving some wounded.
