Traditional rulers in Enugu East Senatorial District have called for the sustenance of the existing zoning and rotation of governorship position among the three senatorial districts in the state.
The traditional rulers made the call on Friday in Enugu during an advocacy visit by officials of Nike Patriotic Front led by Dr Sam Ngwu to the traditional rulers at the Iji-Nike palace of Igwe Julius Nnaji.
Igwe Nnaji, the Chairman, Enugu East Senatorial District Traditional Rulers Council, said that the call was necessary in order not to jeopardise the prevailing peace in the state.
Nnaji said that the traditional rulers had observed with concerns ongoing debates in the political circle aimed at truncating the seamless rotation of power among the three zones in the state.
He that the state had enjoyed an entrenched rotation agreement since 1999 and appealed to politicians in the state not to take actions that would heat up the polity.
“By the subsisting zoning and power rotation arrangement in the state, it is natural that the governorship position moves to Enugu East Senatorial District in 2023.
“We want to appeal to those that want to cause confusion in the state as a result of their personal interests to respect the agreement which has taken roots in the state,” he said.
Nnaji urged traditional rulers from the zone to be united and speak with one voice in demanding that the status quo be maintained.
Also, the Chairman, Enugu East Local Government Traditional Rulers Council, Igwe Titus Okolo, said that the plot by some politicians to circumvent the zoning arrangement called for greater unity among the people of the area.
Okolo, who is the traditional ruler of Amorji Nike, called on politicians from the zone not to be arm-twisted into abandoning their right in 2023.
Also, the traditional ruler of Amagunze, Nkanu East Local Government Area, Igwe Emmanuel Nnamani, said that as a product of zoning, the state governor needed to ensure the right thing was done.
Nnamani said there was need for the royal fathers to meet with some of the governorship aspirants in the state in order to ensure a peaceful election.
Also, the traditional ruler of Ikem, Isiuzo Local Government Area, Igwe Okey Ogbodo, commended members of Nike Patriotic Front for their advocacy to ensure the zone was not schemed out of power in 2023.
Ogbodo also commended the group for their efforts aimed at changing the perception of residents of the state about Nike clan, especially, the youth.
The traditional ruler, however, said that such sensitisation ought to be carried out across the senatorial district in order to change the mindset of the youth who were used as thugs during elections.
Earlier, the Chairman, Nike Patriotic Front, said that the group was made up of credible intellectuals and professionals who were concerned about the wrong perception of their people.
Ngwu said that the Front’s duty was to positively reshape the destinies of its people by offering the younger generation cultural and political guidance.
The chairman said that part of its mandate was to ensure that the area produced the governor in 2023 and solicited the support and intervention of the traditional rulers for the realisation.