Enugu – A political association, Youth Alliance for Good Governance has appealed to traditional rulers in Enugu State to stay clear of partisan politics in order to maintain their integrity.
The Founder of the group, Mr Kingsley Ochinawata, made the appeal on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu.
Ochinanwata, who was reacting to the endorsement of Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of the state for a second term by the monarchs, said that the action of the traditional rulers was `sacrilegious’.
He said that it was sad that the traditional rulers whom by the dictates of their sacred positions were expected to be neutral in such sensitive matters could take such action.
The founder said that such move was capable of breeding bad blood among their subjects who obviously belonged to different political parties.
“We see the traditional rulers as authorities in our communities. For them to have come out openly and with fanfare to endorse one man is unthinkable.
“They are supposed to be neutral. What their action means is that our traditional rulers now belong to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“This may not create room for another political party to succeed in the state,” he said.
Ochinanwata said that the monarchs may not have known the veracity of what they did.
“Whatever that may have motivated the monarchs to give that level of support to the governor, we, at Youth Alliance for Good Governance want them to withdraw it.
“This has never happened before and it is capable of causing disaffection among the people,” he said.
He said that the move was a slight on those that might have interest in the governorship position.
Ochinanwata described the endorsement as `antidemocratic’ adding that even if the monarchs wanted to show any level of support to the governor, “they could have done it discreetly”.
It would be recalled that traditional rulers from the 450 autonomous communities in the state had on Saturday during what they called “a mega apolitical rally’ endorsed Ugwuanyi for another term.
The traditional rulers who declared Ugwuanyi as their choice said that their decision was predicated on the general acceptability of the governor by residents of the state as well as his good performance in office.
The traditional rulers, led by the Chairman of Enugu State Traditional Rulers Council, Igwe Lawrence Agubuzu had during the event presented the governor with ‘Ofor’, which symbolizes power and authority in Igboland.
(NAN)
