The Chairman of Warri North Local Government of Delta State, Mr. Smart Asekutu, has come under fire for allegedly interfering in the process of king selection for oil-rich Egbema kingdom.
Reacting to comments by the council boss over accusations of conniving with and funding a few chiefs of Egbema Traditional Council to “impose Napoleon Egin as the Agadagba (king)-elect” of the kingdom, the Egbema Leaders of Thought (ELOT) warned against perceived injustice being orchestrated by Asekutu and his accomplices.
ELOT, a body concerned with peace and progress of the Egbema people, said it had no preferred candidate, but was committed to upholding justice and truth in the kingdom, regardless of who was involved.
A statement signed by ELOT’s Chairman and Secretary, Elder Edmund Tiemo and E. A. Mawari, said the council boss had in response to allegations against him, including aiding and abetting a factional traditional council of chiefs in the kingdom, tried to confuse right thinking people.
ELOT disputed the chairman’s claim that “the entire Egbema people assembled for a whole day to come up with one name (Napoleon Egin) out of six names,” purportedly submitted by Ogbudugbudu Ruling House and challenged him (Asekutu) to prove otherwise.
Reacting to the allegations, Media Aide to the Council Chairman Silas Toruwei said ELOT was only scheming for the selection of its preferred candidate, Ese Obabiri.
He said the chairman did not support Egin, as alleged, but was rather following the directive of the Egbema Traditional Council of Chiefs, which was saddled with the responsibility of choosing one out of the six names on the list submitted by the Ogbudugbudu Ruling House at a town hall meeting in Ofunama, the headquarters of the kingdom.