Kogi State government has cleared the air on issues surrounding the query it issued to the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland and the vice president of Kogi State Council of Chiefs, Dr Ado Ibrahim.
The monarch was queried by the state government through the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs for alleged disrespect for President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Yahaya Bello during the Nigerian leader’s visit to the state last week.
Responding to comments and reactions to the incident, the commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs, Barr. Salami Momodu Ozigi Deedat, frowned at the way and manner the query document was circulated thereby making it a trending story in the media.
In a statement he issued to newsmen yesterday in Lokoja, the commissioner said, “What ordinarily should have been an official process has been made public by the recipient of the query and as such the public deserves to be abreast with the truth and isolate it from falsehood.”
Deedat narrated how the commissioned palace of the monarch served as the official palace of the Ohinoyis before the current traditional ruler.
He said, “The reconstructed palace of Ohinoyi of Ebiraland which was commissioned by Buhari has all been the official palace/residence of successive Ohinoyis of Ebiraland. It is on record that when President Muhammadu Buhari visited Okene in 1984 as military head of state, it was in the same palace that he was received by the then Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, late Alhaji Sanni Omolori. The palace has been remodelled and reconstructed to a magnificent edifice that every son and daughter of Ebiraland could be proud of.
“Albeit, the current Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, His Royal Majesty, Alhaji Ado Ibrahim opted, on his own, to stay in his personal house and use it as a palace, that does not erase the fact that there is an official palace built over the years for Ohinoyi of Ebiraland. It was for this reason that when the idea to reconstruct the palace to make it befitting for the revered stool of Ohinoyi of Ebiraland was mulled, he (Ohinoyi of Ebiraland) was sufficiently consulted and he gave his consent.
“Upon the completion of the project which has received commendation from far and wide and the date for the commissioning by the president was approved and announced, I personally paid a visit to the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland and I duly informed him of the programme of event. Although he responded negatively that he would not attend, I persuaded and entreated him to kindly attend in view of the importance of the project and especially the personality of the president that would commission the project.
“It is now known to all sundry that he made good his negative disposition not on any account of ill health or circumstances beyond his control, but a deliberate act of disloyalty and insubordination to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the executive governor of the state.
“It may interest the public to know that the official visit of Mr President to Kogi State to commission projects was not limited to Okene alone, sundry projects were commissioned by the president in Lokoja, the State capital. To this effect, the President, Kogi State Council of Chiefs, His Royal Majesty, Matthew Alaji Opaluwa Oguche Akpa, Attah Igala led other Royal Majesties and all 1st Class Chiefs from both East and West Senatorial Districts and from their far domains to receive the President at the designated venue in Lokoja.
“It is therefore left for the public to judge if it was fair and appropriate for His Royal Majesty, the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, whose private residence is a few metres away from the venue of the commissioning of the palace and being the principal beneficiary of the project to stay put in his house while all the Graded Chiefs within Kogi Central Senatorial District were present in solidarity with him to honour and receive the president.
“The government of His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello is a responsive and responsible government and will not allow any person or group of persons no matter how highly placed to ridicule, humiliate and cast aspersion on or disdain the genuine intention of this administration to usher unprecedented development in the state. Actions that are tailored towards disloyalty, insubordination and that which tends to affect the peace, security, good image and cohesion of the state will not be treated with levity. This administration will continue to ensure that this state is governed by the rule of law, respect for authority and humanity and the guarantee of equal rights for all citizens.
“Let the general public be rest assured that the government will handle this matter with utmost objectivity devoid of any sentiment. The panel that will be set up to look into the matter will be dispassionate, diligent and rational and will ensure fairness, equity and justice,” he said.
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