Ebonyi stool: Catholic bishop calls for caution, urges due process
From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
The Catholic Bishop of Abakaliki Diocese, Rev. Peter Nworie Chukwu, has called for caution in the ongoing tussle over the Nkomoro traditional stool in Ezza North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The people of the community and a former Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Chief Jacob Nwakpa, have been battling over the stool. The development has polarised the community and heightened tension there.
Addressing the parishioners of St. Mary’s Catholic Parish in the community, at the weekend, Chukwu called for due process in the election of the new king of the community, saying that only God crowns a king. He noted that the person that would be the king of the community must enjoy the respect of the people and must be a man of integrity.
Meanwhile, the Ebonyi State House of Assembly Committee on Public Petition, Justice and Judiciary, headed by Innocent Nomeh, has ordered the coronation of Nwakpa as the new monarch of Nkomoro community.
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The committee allegedly found out that the Nkomoro people, in their general meeting held on April 6, 2024, had constituted a five-man screening committee, headed by Samuel Nwokwu, which screened candidates from Oriuzor clan where the zoning arrangement favoured. It observed that the petition from those challenging the emergence of Nwakpa lacked merit.
But Daily Sun gathered that those against the former INEC REC had concluded arrangements to challenge the decision of the House of Assembly Committee. They claimed that the committee has no right to choose a traditional ruler for the Nkomoro community.
