New Eze Aro gets Staff of Office, promises good leadership
From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia
Abia State Government has presented Staff of Office to the newly selected Ninth Eze Aro, HRM Eberechukwu Oji.
The new Aro king was presented with his Staff of Office on Friday following government’s ratiffication of the selection process which produced him.
Presenting the staff of office at the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Umuahia, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prince Uzor Nwachukwu, charged the Eze Aro to ensure that peace, unity, law and order reigned among his people and to rule with the fear of God.
The Commissioner reiterated that government had no hands in the selection process of the new Eze Aro but only followed the constitution with respect to the autonomous communities in the State.
“I want to encourage the people of Aro, they have shown resilience. It’s been a long process of selecting and presenting their Eze. Initially, there were issues and there were factions. But then, a Panel of Inquiry was set up by government and they gave their recommendations upon which the government issued a White Paper and based on the white paper, they were asked to go and do the right thing which they have done and then government has also put a seal of approval on that which the people did,” the Commissioner said.
“I want to reiterate for the umpteenth time, the goverment had no hands in the process of selection of Eze Aro but what the government has always insisted was that the people follow the processes as documented in the constitution that we have here with us, that guides the autonomous communities and they have done that and His Excellency has given his seal of approval to that which the people have done,” Nwachukwu added.
He used the forum to admonish the people of Arochukwu who, he noted, have shown resilience, to embrace peace in the overall interest of Arochukwu kingdom.
The Commissioner congratulated the Eze Aro and Arochukwu people on the feat they have achieved.
Speaking earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mrs Florence Chigbu, and the Director, Chieftaincy Affairs Department, Mr Chuka Agomuo, explained that the Aro people followed the tradition and passed through due process in selecting their new Eze.
In his response after receiving his Staff of Office, the Eze Aro, Eze Eberechukwu Oji, thanked the Governor for his tireless effort in resolving the ezeship tussle in Arochukwu, stressing that the his emergence and recognition by government would mark a turning point in Arochukwu kingdom.
He said that he would run a peaceful , inclusive and righteous government.
“Today marks a turning point in my life personally and I believe also, a turning point in our journey as a kingdom, the Arochukwu kingdom. I remember with nolstagia, the excellence in leadership that my grand father , Mazi Kanu Oji, used to run the kingdom and I am trusting God that with the help of the Almighty God, that we will follow in his footstep to run a kingdom that is peaceful, a kingdom that is prosperous, a kingdom that is inclusive, a kingdom that unleashes the talent of everyone that belongs to Arochukwu kingdom, both young and old.
“It is my desire that we live in unity and we will maintain absolute balance in everything we do and we pursue in the kingdom and that Arochukwu will become a model of what traditional Igbo leadership represents,” Eze Oji said.
The event attracted the presence of the new Eze Ibom Isii, the President General of Nzuko Arochukwu World Wide and many other prominent Aro sons and daughters.
