LETTER: Why Kogi Government Rejected Monarch’s Response To Query

The Kogi State Government has rejected the response of the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Ado Ibrahim, to the query issued to him over his failure to welcome President Muhammadu Buhari to the state last December.

Monarch’s Response To Query Rejected By Kogi Government

Buhari visited the state last year in December to unveil Governor Yahaya Bello’s projects.

The Kogi government queried the top monarch for being absent when the president visited the state.

According to the government, the action of the monarch was disrespectful to the president and Governor Bello.

But, in his response, Ibrahim claimed he was not officially invited to welcome the president.

He added that he was unaware that a new palace for Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, one of the projects the president commissioned during his visit, was constructed by the state government. He also claimed the state government appointed someone unknown to him to represent him at the commissioning and that the person read a speech he was neither aware of nor approved.

However, in a letter dated January 16th, 2023, the state government stated that the response was rejected because the monarch did not comply with the appropriate title of his stool.

Part of the letter reads, “Your personal decision to use the title of Atta Ebira and not Ohinoyi of Ebiraland in your official communication is at variance with sections 19a, 27(2b), 33 and schedules II and V of Kogi State Chiefs (Appointment, Deposition and Establishment of Traditional Councils in Kogi State) Law, 2006 and your letter of appointment issued to you with Ref. No. GHLK/KGS/22 dated 2nd June 1997. The title of Atta Ebira is alien to the law and not recognized by Government.

“Therefore any correspondence with that title is unacceptable for official purposes.”

In other news, Kanyi Daily reported that the Ogun State Ministry of Youth and Sports has turned down the request by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to make use of the MKO Abiola International Stadium for the rally of its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.