A Benue monarch, the Adirahu Ny’Igede, Chief Oga Ero, has said he did not confer any chieftaincy title on President Bola Tinubu and the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Sen. George Akume, during the Igede Agba yam festival.
Recall the Agba festival was trailed with controversy and loud media uproar over the conferment of chieftaincy titles on individuals by the Igede monarch.
Chief Oga Ero, in a chat with journalists, admitted the President’s name was never on the list of honourees, nor was a title ever placed on his head.
The Igede monarch, who presided over the annual Igede Agba festival, was categorical when he spoke with journalists:
“I did not give President Tinubu any chieftaincy title. I only dressed the SGF, Sen. George Akume, in Igede attire. That is normal for special guests. Nothing more.”
He echoed the clarification from the Idoma Area Traditional Council, whose Secretary, Adegbe Uloko, stated that the President and the SGF were never listed for conferment.
DAILY POST athered that with the Igede Agba festival returning after years of interruption, a backlog of honourees eager for recognition became a clash of authority between Idoma central command and Igede local pride.
The Adirahu Ny’Igede said he had written to the Och’Idoma with a list of 10 potential recipients of Igede chieftaincy titles.
The Och’Idoma, invoking his powers under the Benue Chieftaincy Law, trimmed the list, raised objections to some names, and later ordered that the entire conferment be suspended.
But Adirahu Ny’Igede, citing his own constitutional role, felt tradition could not wait on bureaucracy and went ahead with selected honours.
That “defiance” brought the public nullification issued by the Och’Idoma’s council on September 7.
