The Governor of Cross River State, Bassey Otu has ordered the immediate reinstatement of His Royal Majesty, Prof Itam Hogan Itam, as the Village Head of Obufa Obio Ukem, Clan Head of Efut Ukem, Muri Munene, and Paramount Ruler of the Efuts.
Until his dethronement in May 2022 by the then Governor of Cross River State, Prof Ben Ayade, he was the patriarch of Efut nation, (a minority people living in Cross River State, Southern Nigeria) a position he would hold until his transition to the great beyond.
Tribune online gathered that, Ben Ayade, sacked Itam and ordered that his certificate of recognition be retrieved for allegedly dabbling into partisan politics.
Itam was said to have attended a meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction in the Southern Senatorial District at the time the former governor, Ben Ayade defected from the PDP to the APC.
In a press release issued yesterday by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Otu, Mr Emmanuel Ogbeche, the Governor stated that “Prof. Itam Hogan Itam is the only and duly recognized Village Head of Obufa Obio Ukem, Clan Head of Efut Ukem, Muri Munene, and Paramount Ruler of the Efuts, as any other person will be regarded as an impostor as such a person will be contravening Section 37 of the Traditional Rulers Law, Cap T4, Laws of Cross River State, 2004, and shall be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
“His restoration is based on the ruling of the High Court of Cross River State in Suit No. HC/MSC/154/2022 between HRM Muri Munene (Prof.) Itam Hogan Itam vs. Governor of Cross River State and two others delivered on July 19, 2022, which set aside the removal of Prof. Itam as the Village Head of Obufa Obio Ukem, Clan Head of Efut Ukem, Muri Munene and Paramount Ruler of the Efuts.
“Governor Otu while congratulating His Royal Majesty Muri Munene, Prof. Itam Hogan Itam, on his restoration to the throne of his forefathers, urges him to pursue peace, inclusion and work towards the good of all Efuts and the State in general.”
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