The Udu Council of Chiefs, the body of 28 Kingmakers in Udu Kingdom, Udu Local Government Area of Delta State, has dismissed the purported suspension of the Otota (Traditional Prime Minister) of Udu Kingdom.
In a statement signed by the Secretary to the Udu Council of Chiefs, Olorogun Solomon Kpomah, shortly after a meeting of the council on Wednesday, the council ratified the suspension of Chief Andrew Orugbo, Chief Johnbull Onoherhe and Chief Otto Ogbiruveta for their disruptive behaviour and insubordination since the demise of the Udu monarch, stressing that the alleged suspension of the Otota by a section of Udu honorary chiefs was a nullity as no honorary chief has the right to suspend the Otota in the first place.
According to the statement, “The Udu Council of Chiefs met today and took several decisions, including the ratification of the suspension of Chief Andrew Orugbo, former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Delta State and presently Chairman, Governing Council, Delta State Polytechnic, Oghara, Chief Johnbull Onoherhe and Chief Otto Ogbiruveta for their disruptive action and insubordination. It was laughable that what we read shortly after the meeting was the alleged suspension of the Otota, who is the regent of Udu kingdom.
“What right has an honorary chief to suspend an Otota? Honorary chiefs are not members of the Udu Council of Chiefs inaugurated last year by the state government before the passage of our revered monarch, who complied with the state government directive concerning the composition of the Council of Chiefs by conferring titles on members who hitherto were not chiefs.
“The joke represented by the purported suspension of the Otota is therefore a product of illiteracy, senility and gross ignorance, ignited by unbridled ambition by some chiefs who are afraid they cannot sway the Kingmakers to do their bidding in the selection of the next King.
“Suspending the Otota by honorary chiefs has no legal or institutional backing. As honorary chiefs, they have no functions whatsoever. It is totally a joke as the Otota has continued to function very effectively. This is just like little children crying and laying claims to an aeroplane flying over their heads in the village square whereas the aircraft is not theirs and can never be theirs. Such claims lack reality and stand truth on its head. This childish show of shame by men as old as 80 years, clearly underscores the fact that ignorance is a disease.
“We therefore urge members of the public to disregard the false story in the media because the Otota and regent of Udu Kingdom remains Sir Chief Sam Odibo. No illiterate and blind bat can usurp the authority and powers of the Otota for any reason. The entire Udu Council of Chiefs has passed a vote of implicit Confidence in the Otota.
“Meanwhile, Andrew Orugbo, Johnbull Onoherhe and Otto Ogbiruveta are hereby barred from all activities of the council henceforth.
“It is hereby reiterated for the umpteenth time that no honorary chief, in an inordinate bid to assign a role to himself, has the power to suspend the Otota of Udu Kingdom. The Council of Chiefs hereby call on the state government and security agencies to bring those behind the unfortunate story to book because they are security threats and should be dealt with decisively to serve as a deterrent to others who may wish to tread the same path in the future,” the statement added
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