Posted by Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno has advised the royal fathers who are protesting the new Traditional Rulers Council (TRC) law to take the peaceful route.
He advised them to drop their lawsuit against the state government so that they could have an open dialogue about the issue and maybe reach a permanent resolution.
You may recall that the royal fathers’ relationship has been strained ever since the state assembly passed the new TRC law, Cap 155, and the governor signed it into law.
The new law was intended to end the long-standing rotational provision among all the state’s paramount rulers by making the Oku Ibom Ibibio, the largest ethnic group, presidents for life.
The governor called a meeting of the TRC at the Exco Chambers on Tuesday, concerned about the stress and anger the new law is causing. He urged the members to put aside their emotions and debate the next steps in an objective manner.
In addition, he criticized the royal fathers for their previous insubordination in declining his invitations to peace negotiations, saying that this “may set a precedent for an unending spiral of insubordination across the leadership spectrum.”
To quote a portion of the statement: “As Governor of this state, I cannot and will not allow strife to persist, and if you check, that it has persisted is not of my making.”
On September 23, 2023, I emailed everyone and asked them to meet for breakfast. The meeting was called so that I could hear everyone’s concerns and work with them to find a solution that would work for everyone. The impacted Paramount Rulers didn’t come up for hours, and we had to cancel the meeting. These problems wouldn’t exist if the meeting had been scheduled.
I’m here to let you know that I’m willing to talk to you and join you on the road that must end in harmony and harmony. However, the litigation over this issue presents an existing obstacle. Any detailed discussion or intervention in this action will be considered privileged while it is still pending. Therefore, I strongly suggest that you remove this legal barrier, end all media and politically induced media fights, and come back here so that we may settle this matter to everyone’s satisfaction by mutual compromise.