– Call for government intervention
By Tobore Akpososo
Presidents of the 32 traditional communities in Udu local government area of Delta State have thrown their weight behind the decision of the Udu Council boss to withhold subvention to the Udu Council of Chiefs until the body is functional, stressing that any fund released to the palace without the Council in place could be misapplied, calling on the state government to call the Udu monarch to order and ensure the proper thing is done to safeguard the integrity of the Traditional Rulers and Chieftaincy Edict 1979 in the best interest of the people.
In a communiqué signed by the community presidents under the aegis of the Udu Community Presidents Forum led by Engr John Uviejitobor, super president and Pastor Great Nyekigbe, super secretary, the body contended that the directive of government and official communication dated 13th November, 2024 addressed to the Ovie of Udu Kingdom and the Udu Council boss, on the impasse in Udu Kingdom were being violated by the monarch with a ‘’potentiality of volatile breach of peace, posing significant threats to life and property’’.
The Forum insisted that the intervention of the state government which led to inauguration of the Udu Traditional Council of Chiefs members was the best thing to happen to Udu and that what is left is for the monarch to confer tittles on those who are not title holders yet and thereafter convene a meeting of the Udu Council of Chiefs to end the impasse instead of seeking to ratify what the state government has done.
The Forum contended further that some self-serving tendencies in Udu were fighting to find their way into the Udu Council of Chiefs without the input of their respective ruling houses just because they are close to the palace, stressing that these elements were responsible for the delay in putting the Council into effective use.
The community presidents frowned at some elements allegedly working to undermine the position of the respective ruling houses, urging the Udu council boss to “stay by the people and not be blackmailed to surrender to the antics of enemies of Udu who are hovering around the palace like hawks and fighting hard to undermine the progress of the land”.
In direct reference to a publication in the Pointer Newspaper of Wednesday December 11, 2024 by a self-styled Udu Chiefs Forum titled: ‘’Payment due to the Ovie of Udu Kingdom is seized by the Udu Local Government Council’’ and signed by some chiefs including Chief Otto Ogbiruveta, Chief Andrew Oyovwiraye, Chief Excellence Miller, Chief Misisi Ophe and Chief Stanley Tesiri, the community presidents condemned the action of the chiefs which sought to blame the council boss for the crisis in Udu instead of locating same in the appropriate place which they referred to as the palace.
‘’We make bold to say that Chief Vincent Oyibode did not withhold any money due the Ovie of Udu Kingdom. The subvention under reference is for the Udu Traditional Council of Chiefs which has 28 members appointed from the 7 ruling houses and the Ovie, Otota, and heads of Igbun and Ade societies. You cannot release money to a Traditional Council that has not met to decide what the subvention should be used for. The money does not belong to the Ovie. These elements, who parade themselves as chiefs yet do not know how to separate the Monarch from the Traditional Council of Chiefs are some of the problems Udu must deal with to move forward.
“The Council of Chiefs is the body of Kingmakers, with specific functions. They meet from time to time to discuss traditional issues that affect Udu Kingdom. The subvention under reference is not meant for the King but the Council. Where there has not been a functional Council of Chiefs for over 10 years, one cannot say money meant for the council was withheld. What we have been made to understand is that the council boss is only insisting on proper recognition of the members already inaugurated, for them to perform their traditional duties before subvention is released. What is wrong with that? We stand by the Udu Council boss on this matter.
‘’We are delighted to know that some of those paraded as signatories to the publications have denied any knowledge of the piece, suggesting the presence of a cabal in the palace that is mismanaging and usurping the power of the King to promote discord and disunity in the Kingdom. But we shall continue to insist on the right thing to be done for peace to reign in Udu’’, the communiqué declared.
The communiqué reaffirmed the position of the ruling houses which have nominated representatives to the Udu Traditional Council and has been inaugurated by the state government in Asaba, stressing that anything contrary to what has been put in place was going to be recipe for chaos and disaster. They urged Olorogun Vincent Oyibode to stay the course and refused to be distracted because of the selfish interests of a few elements in the system, noting that the 32 Udu communities were solidly behind him in withholding subvention to the UTC until the house is convened, functional and respected by the monarch for it to serve its purpose in furtherance of peace and harmony in Udu.
The communiqué also appealed to the state government to intervene by calling the Udu monarch to order in the interest of peace, stressing that any attempt to alter what has been put in place by any interest group would be met with stiff resistance from the Udu people.
