Abia state government boasts of stopping desecration of customs and traditions

By The Editor, Umuahia

The local government and Chieftaincy affairs Commissioner in Abia state, Uzo Nwachukwu has said that the state government had set up a panel of inquiry to investigate the staff of office hurriedly presented to some traditional rulers on the 9th of May 2023 by the immediate Past administration.

He said the ministry introduced reforms that have helped restore the the traditional institution’s original status.

The commissioner came up with this this when he received the leadership of the Online Media Practitioners Association of Nigeria(OMPAN) who called on him at the Ministry’s headquarters in Umuahia.

He said that through the reforms, the ministry was able to identify the 539 traditional rulers the state had.

“When I came in as SA , I realized that the state had no figure of how many traditional rulers we have in Abia, so we said we have to do a verification which a lot of people wrongly called biometric but it was never biometric but to get proper identification of all the traditional rulers in Abia State.

“After the enumeration, we now realized that there were 539 Traditional rulers as at that time in Abia.”

He further announced that the ministry stopped the desecration of the customs and traditions in Abia.

According to him, government does not meddle in the selection process of a traditional ruler even as it believes anyone who wants to rule, must have the capacity to lead the people.

He said, “My father is a traditional ruler and I understand that the traditional institution is a respected institution, I believe that if you want to be a traditional ruler of a community,you must have the capacity to manage people.

“It is not the responsibility of government to choose who becomes traditional ruler for any community but I only insist that the process must be followed as enshrined by law.”

He said no administration has pumped in money into the local government administration like the administration of governor Alex Otti.”

Earlier in his speech, the state chairman of the Online Media Practitioners Association of Nigeria(OMPAN), Promise Uzoma Okoro said they were at the Ministry of Local Government and chieftaincy Affairs to interface with the Commissioner and synergize with him in the area of information dissemination.

He also extended an invitation to the commissioner to the association’s interactive media chat coming up in May.