A revered senior lawyer and two-term member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon. Barr. Chugbo Enwezor, has described the suspension of Igwe Neni, His Royal Highness Igwe Damian Ezeani, by the Government of Anambra State, as unjust and illegal. This, he said when he was featured on Viko Tv’s Politics Now, hosted by Ebuka Onyekwelu. Hon. Enwezor, who seriously supported Prof. Soludo in the 2021 guber election in Anambra State, also asked the governor to focus on the constitutional mandate of providing security and welfare to the Anambra people.
Responding to the question, “What does the law say about the suspension of Igwe Neni by the Governor of Anambra State?” Hon. Chugbo Enwezor said, “For my part, I’m not aware of any law that supports the Governor’s action. I have been waiting for people to cite the relevant law that supports the action. I have not seen it. Whatever the case may be, I’m sure you are aware, from what we ‘ve heard, that the suspended Igwe breached the code of conduct for traditional rulers, what is it alabout? They are saying that before an Igwe would confer any title on anybody, he has to get confirmation from the Igwe of the person and the state government. If that is so, then, it is unconstitutional,” Barr. Enwezor said. Speaking on the various provisions of the relevant sections of the constitution, Barr. Chugbo Enwezor concluded that the Nigerian Constitution was clear and is against subjecting citizens to unfair restrictions that are unknown to the constitution.
Commenting on the Anambra State Traditional Rulers’ code of conduct, Hon. Chugbo described the code of conduct as illegal. But also, he observed that in any case, the code of conduct was to be implemented by the traditional rulers themselves. “If they have a code of conduct, it is for the traditional rulers to enforce such code of conduct and such code of conduct will not be such that it will infringe on the freedom of association, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom from discrimination… (if not) such code of conduct is contrary to the fundamental rights provision of the constitution that guarantees freedom of association. Section 42 of the constitution says that no citizen of Nigeria shall be subject to any disability by any administrative action that other Nigerians are not subject to. So, if you are saying that before an Igwe, the custodian of the culture of the people could confer title on anybody, he has to go now and confirm from another Igwe. That kind of code of conduct is self-serving, because, you cannot be the Igwe of your town and also the Igwe of another person’s town. Also, you cannot make yourself an ombudsman, you are infringing on the rights of the Igwe. If an Igwe has determined within himself that someone has done something and decides, as a custodian of the culture of his people, it is not for an Igwe of another town to now ratify or confirm and approve. That is contrary to the provisions of Chapter 4 of the constitution.”
According to Enwezor, that an Igwe breached the code of conduct can never be grounds for suspension. “Such code of conduct and its enforcement is contrary to the provisions of the constitution”. Berating the governor, Hon. Enwezor wondered why the government should be consumed by irrelevant things while abandoning the critical constitutional basis for any government in Nigeria which is security and welfare. “Security and welfare of the people is the primary purpose of the government. So, what is the business of a governor over suspending a traditional ruler for allegedly breaching the code of conduct of traditional rulers”.
For over a week, the argument on the suspension of Igwe Damian Ezeani of Neni has continued to rage. But for Barr. Enwezor, even beyond being unconstitutional, Hon. Enwezor also said that the government’s action was ill-conceived. “Such decisions were not well thought-out. It is an infringement on the fundamental rights of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah who is a distinguished Nigerian by the provisions of the constitution and the Igwe of Neni who conferred the title”. In conclusion, Enwezor described the suspension as “eratic, illegal, highhandedness and conscription of freedom” by the governor. Regretting that such mundane things should preoccupy the governor, Hon. Enwezor also emphasized that the traditional rulers in question have absolutely no need to apologize to anybody.
He is a Technical Assistant to Governor Willie Obiano’s Special Adviser on Legislative Matters, whoonce was a Special Adviser to a former Deputy Speaker of Anambra State House of Assembly. Ebuka is a second class upper division graduate of Political Science from University of Calabar, Calabar Nigeria and holds a Masters Degree in Political Science with specialization in Government and Development Studies, from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka Nigeria
