Anambra community rejects newly elected king, asks Soludo to annul election results
Tensions are escalating in the Ihite community of Orumba South Local Government Area in Anambra State over the selection of a traditional ruler.
Some community members, led by the Ihite Traditional Council, have disowned the newly elected monarch, Mr. Timothy Ifurunwa, who was chosen last weekend by a faction under the influence of the community's President General, Mr. George Madu.
The community is divided into factions, with significant stakeholders opposing the selection process that led to Ifurunwa's emergence as the new king.
The traditional council has petitioned Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, requesting his intervention to prevent a crisis and urging him to disregard the process that resulted in Ifurunwa's election.
In the petition signed by their lawyer, Barrister N.I. Onyeakpa, and traditional council members Chiefs Ahamkonye, Daniel Ifemkpa, Anudu Ephraim, and Geoffrey Okeke, the council accuses the President General, George Madu, of violating the town's constitution in favor of his preferred candidate.
The petition states: "Ihite town in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State lost their traditional ruler, Igwe B.O. Ofu, in 2020. According to Ihite native law and custom, a new ruler is to be selected after two years through a joint meeting of the traditional council and the town union. This was not followed in Ifurunwa's selection."
Onyeakpa urges Soludo to withhold a certificate of recognition from Ifurunwa, emphasizing that the President General's authority to singlehandedly select a king is under dispute in court.
"Our clients have filed suits in both the customary court and magistrate court challenging the purported dissolution of the Ihite traditional council by the President General, and the subsequent illegal selection process," said Onyeakpa.
Chiefs Geoffrey Okeke and Onowu Dominic Ahamkonye also urged Soludo to annul the selection and not to issue a certificate of recognition to the new monarch.
Despite this, the President General, George Madu, maintained that the selection process was fair and transparent. He claims that opposition comes from a small group of discontented individuals.
He asserts that the selection was legitimate and transparent, dismissing claims of impropriety as the work of a few dissenting voices in the community.
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