Ibibio P/Rulers Fire Akpabio Ukpa, Name R. J. Obot As Okuibom III

Nine of the fourteen (14) Paramount Rulers of Ibibio land on March 1, 2010 rose against His Eminence Akpabio Udo Ukpa when they in a statement to the press declared the Paramount Ruler of Nsit Ubium and Enin Akwa Afaha, HRM, Edidem Robert James Obot as the substantive Okuibom Ibibio III following the burial of His Eminence, Usonyin Okon Ekpo Ekpo, former Paramount Ruler of Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area and Okuibom II of Ibibio land.

His Eminence, Usonyin Akpabio Udo Ukpa who is the Paramount Ruler of ONNA Local Government Area before the resolution of the nine royal fathers at the Palace of Etinan monarch, HRH, Edidem Ime Dickson Umoette, was the Okuibom III of Ibibio land whose inauguration to the office, Global Concord gathered was awaiting the final obsequies of the former Okuibom and “other legal tussles to the office”, a source said.

But in a statement signed by nine paramount rulers of Ibibio land, the royal fathers declared HRM Edidem Robert James Obot as the substantive Okuibom Ibibio.
They said: “At the extraordinary meeting of the Paramount Rulers of Ifim Ibom Ibibio held at the Palace of HRM, Edidem Ime Dickson Umoette, Paramount Rulers of Etinan Local Government Area on 1st March 2010, the following resolutions were made and adopted:
“That members were happy that the long awaited burial of His Eminence Usonyin Okon Ekpo Ekpo, former Paramount Ruler of Ibesikpo Asutan and former Okuibom Ibibio II was finally laid to rest.

“That by unanimous agreement of the following paramount rulers, HRH Edidem Robert James Obot II FCA was duly selected as the new Okuibom to succeed the late His Eminence Usonyin Okon Ekpo Ekpo former Okuibom Ibibio II in accordance with the succession plan in article VI of the constitution of the Supreme Council of Ibibio traditional Rulers (Ifim Ibom Ibibio), which states that “Okuibom shall be selected by the Paramount Rulers who by this constitution are the kingmakers”
“That the selection of HRM, Edidem Robert James Obot II, Paramount Ruler of Nsit Ubium Local Government Area (which is offspring of old Etinan Local Government Area before the creation of the new Etinan Local Government Area, Nsit Ubium Local Government Area and Nsit Ibom Local Government Area) is in accordance with the constitution of Ifim Ibom Ibibio, which states that the candidate for such office shall come from and rotate along the alphabetical list of the Local Government Areas namely; old Eket, Etinan, Ikono, Ikot Abasi, Itu and Uyo.

“That the selection of HRM Edidem Robert James Obot II from the old Etinan Local Government Area is in agreement with the decision of the paramount rulers to correct the omission of the old Etinan Local Government Area during the Selection of Okuibom II who came from the old Uyo Local Government Area instead of old Etinan according to the alphabetical order stated in the constitution.

The document was signed by Paramount Rulers of Etinan, HRM Edidem Okuku Ime Udousoro Inyang, Uruan E. B. A Ekanem and their Itu counterpart, HRM Edidem Edet Akpan Inyang. Others are Paramount rulers of Uyo, HRH Edidem Edem Silas Akpan (Surveyor), Ibesikpo Asutan HRH Edidem Ita Bassey Etuk, Nsit Atai HRM Edidem A. U. Ntuen, Ikono, HRM Edidem Effiong Akpan Ineme and Nsit Ubium, HRM Edidem Robert James Obot.
As at the time of filing this report, there have been reactions and counter reactions to the selection of Edidem Robert James Obot as the Oku Ibom III by the Paramount Rulers. One school of thought says the selection is legal having majority of the kingmaker of Ifim Ibom. A paramount ruler and one of the signatories who spoke on condition of anonymity told Global Concord that “Ibibios will justify our action when they consider that His Eminence Akpabio Udo Ukpa has sold Ibibio politically to other people, to make us slaves in our land. They will understand our action when they know that most of what we royal fathers are said to have agreed have not been agreed generally but by one man on behalf of Ibibio, we must put paid to it because we should have a good man to speak to favor out sons and daughters of like what the other tribes within and outside Akwa Ibom State does. We love Anang, we love Oron, we love Igbos name them; but cannot be to our detriment …, secondly, his (His Eminence Ukpa) selection does not meet what we have in the constitution of Ifim Ibom Ibibio. We were following the alphabetical order which our constitution specifies. The source who spoke at his palace in reaction to the selection, told Global Concord that official announcement and inauguration of the new Okuibom was put on hold for reasons he refused to disclose to the press.

But other schools of thought in Ibibio fault the selection of HRM Edidem Robert Obot and dismissed it as a mere traditional farce carried out by power hungry traditional fathers.

They view the selection as a miscarriage of justice and an attempt to plant seed of discord among the royal fathers.
This group opined that having before the March 1st selection adopted HRM, Akwa Edidem Akpabio Udo Ukpa as Okuibom III and presented same to the state government for ratification; there was no moral or legal backing for the royal fathers to rescind their earlier decision. Global Concord's investigation revealed that HRM Edidem Robert James Obot, the purported Okuibom after the special committee report on the health of the late Okuibom II, led other paramount rulers at the selection exercise to present Edidem Ukpa as the Okuibom III pending when the Okuibom II who took “traditionally ill “at the time would be officially interred.
That he is the one surreptitiously emerging as the new Okuibom, this group of Ibibio elders who disagree accused the new Okuibom of conspiracy against the royal stool of Ifim Ibom Ibibio.
A source who spoke with Global Concord and clan head in one of the Local Governments in Uyo Senatorial District faulted “everything that has to do with the Ifim Ibom Ibibio when Usonyin Okon Ekpo Ekpo was not interred”.
He said in consonance with the tradition of Ibibio people, there should have not been any selection, interim or whatsoever when Usonyin Okon Ekpo Ekpo was not buried.
The clan head who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “Tradition is different from politics. It is our culture and custom that you can't sit on any traditional stool in Ibibio as a village head, clan head or paramount ruler or whatsoever if the person who sat there is not dead and is not buried officially. If you try it, the gods that we call “Ikaan” will kill you. But look at what is happening today, before the official announcement of his departure, (making reference to late Usonyin Ekpo Ekpo) HRH Akpabio Ukpa was already nominated by these people you told me had signed that document. They are confusionists in every sense of the word”.

He continued: “okay they are saying they are following alphabetical order or whatever, did they not see that constitution that time? We have a problem here …”
The royal father who is respected for his traditional stance also queried the venue where the said selection took place. He reasoned that as the office was to affect the generality of Ibibio people, the selection would have been done at the Asan Ibibio to command the acceptance of Ibibio people and the gods. He said: “when did the palace of Edidem Ime Umoete become the meeting point of the Ibibio to replace the Asan? These men are supposed to know that such sacred traditional rite should be done at no man's house but at our shrine”.
The clan head said there may be serious traditional crisis in Ibibio if the royal fathers are not cautious on their actions especially with regard to the Ifim Ibom stool since according to him, “in a meeting some of us had with the Okuibom (i.e His eminence Akpabio Ukpa) he has insisted that he is the Okuibom and will challenge whoever want to disparage him”.
Another traditionalist and village head in Uyo Local Government Area who chatted with Global Concord pointed accusing fingers on Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs over what he described as traditional logjam in the state particularly in Ibibio. The royal father who spoke on condition of dark identity faulted the nomination of a paramount ruler for Ibesikpo Asutan while the Okuibom was not buried officially. This according to him would have been checked by the commissioner whose duty he said: ”is to harmonize and ensure that the rules governing chieftaincy and tradition in the state is not breached. The silky village head maintained that village heads, clan heads and paramount rulers should not be selected or certificated before the official burial of their predecessors”, since according to him: ”Ado Edodoro akan ntang ikim ndion edot ufa“ .

He calls for strong legal framework to harmonize the situation to forestall the wrath of the gods.

The royal father said he suspects some political manipulations to disintegrate the Ibibios against the 2011 guber race through what he called “war of the kings”.
Global Concord could not reach his Eminence Usonyin Akpabio Udo Ukpa, HRM Edidem Robert James Obot for comment before going to press as every mean to reach them proved abortive. It could not equally reach Hon. Paul Ekpo, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs as his phone lines could not sail through either.