Leadership Crisis Rocks Kano Ndigbo

Leadership crisis is currently rocking the Ndigbo circle in Kano State, as both Boniface Ibekwe and Ikechukwu Oliver Akpudo claim the title of Eze Ndigbo (Ezedioramma) of the state.

The crisis started after the death of Oliver John Chiejina, the Eze Ndigbo (Ezedioramma lV) in 2015, as both the warring parties claimed to be his successor in line with Igbo Community Association (ICA) constitution after the normal burial rites of the deceased.

However, some media houses reported last Wednesday that one Nze Ignatus N. Nwosu and Chief Leonard Nwosu, believed to be from the camp of Akpudo, had approached a Kano High Court 4, requesting the court to nullify the emergence of Ibekwe as Eze-Ndigbo in Kano and he should stop parading himself as the Igbo leader in the state.

The report added that the court dismissed all the issues raised against Ibekwe and confirmed him as the Ezedioramma V on the premise that the plaintiff had failed to prove his case.

But at a press conference on Monday, Akpudo denied the media report that he was defeated in the court by Ibekwe.

According to Akpudo, there was no time he instituted a legal case against Ibekwe at the said Kano High Court, claiming that the purported story was untrue and a concoction of lies to stir controversy and cause confusion in the Igbo community in the state.

Akpudo also dismissed any legal tussle with Ibekwe for dismissing his title and it’s nomenclature by Ibekwe or any other person.

The embattled leader also stressed that “I remain, His Royal Highness, Igwe Ikechukwu Akpudo, Eze Ndigbo in Kano (Ezedioramma V).

“I was duly and constitutionally installed as the fifth Eze Ndigbo in Kano, in line with the Igbo Community Association (ICA) constitution, after the normal burial rites were accorded the Ezedioramma lV, Igwe John Chiejina Nnaji.”

He continued: “I advise Boniface to desist from blackmail and propaganda to gain cheap popularity at the detriment of the sanctity, respect and royalty of Ndigbo in Kano and the Igbo nation at large.”

While appealing to journalists to crosscheck facts all times, Akpudo also urged the Igbo community in the state to remain calm and go about their normal businesses.