The people of Amofia/Amagu Autonomous Community in Enugu State have berated a Nollywood actress, Tana Egbo-Adelana for referring to her late father, Chief Patrick Okoro Egbo as Igwe.
They also expressed anger that she referred to her late father as the Ezeoha 1 of Amofia/ Amagu Nara Unateze, Nkanu East LGA, Enugu State.
The community in a statement “The True Story of The Happenings In Amofia/Amagu Autonomous Community, Nkanu East LGA Enugu State,” warned the actress and her siblings to desist from making further reference to their father as Igwe, saying that Patrick Okoro Egbo was never a legitimate traditional ruler of the community.
They said the late Chief Patrick Okoro Egbo and his fellow contender, Chief Thomas Okeke Egbo lost their Igwe titles in 2012 following a court judgement that nullified the different processes that gave them the titles.
The statement added that the late Patrick Okoro Egbo never participated in the subsequent election process ordered by the court after the nullification except for Igwe Thomas Okeke Egbo who was the unopposed winner of the exercise.
The community pointed out that until his death, Patrick Egbo was not in possession of any of government documents, staff of office or certificate of merit from the town union, giving him the title of Igwe of his community.
SaharaReporters gathered that the actress had referred to her father as Ezeoha 1 of Amofia/Amagu, Nara Unateze in a Notice of Death, invitation and poster on her social media platforms, which the community described as a deliberate sacrilegious attempt by his surviving wife and children to mislead the public and bury the deceased as a traditional ruler.
The community insisted that the late Patrick Okoro Egbo was never a traditional ruler until his death.
The initial process of electing a traditional ruler commenced in the community after the inauguration of a screening committee headed by the late Chief Hyacinth O. Ani with Mr. Emmanuel Ede as Secretary, the community said.
It said the committee called for applications from interested candidates and four persons declared interest comprising the late Chief Patrick Okoro Egbo, Chief Thomas Okeke Egbo (now Igwe), the late Chief Stephen Eze and Mr. Samuel Ede. They all went through screening and only Chief Thomas Okeke Egbo was cleared based on the requirements set out for the screening exercise, the community said.
The late Chief Patrick Okoro Egbo and the late Chief Stephen Eze were said to have been disqualified because they did not have school certificates or their equivalent while Mr. Samuel Ede was disqualified because he had not obtained the “Igbanafia” traditional title.
According to the community, Chief Thomas Okeke Egbo was only the one who qualified after the exercise and the town union adopted and declared him as the Igwe-elect of their community on October 29, 2006, authorising him to set up a cabinet and further complete the process of ‘Igweship’.
The initial process was however reportedly nullified by the state high court which ordered a fresh process and Chief Thomas Okeke Egbo (Okpube Igbo 1 of Nara Unateze) was the sole contender.
He was said to have been declared the Igwe-elect after passing the process of screening. Igwe Thomas Okeke Egbo was subsequently issued a certificate of recognition and staff of office on May 6, 2015, by the then governor of the state, Sullivan Chime.
The community said it had alerted Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi
to the matter and urged him to caution the actress and his siblings in the interest of peace.
