Obong of Calabar: Kingmakers welcome judgment JULY 7, 2013 BY MUDIAGA AFFE The Etubom Traditional Council on Friday welcomed the judgment of the Appeal Court which ordered the conduct of a fresh election for the stool of the Obong of Calabar without the participation of Chief Anthony Ani, who was one of the contenders for the throne. The Appeal Court sitting in Calabar, Cross River State, had on Thursday declared the stool of the Obong of Calabar which was hitherto occupied by Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi-Otu (V) vacant. The court also ruled that a former Minister of Finance, Mr. Anthony Ani, was not traditionally qualified and eligible to vote and be voted for as Calabar’s monarch. In a statement issued by the Chairman of the ETC, Bassey Duke, which was made available to journalists in Calabar, the kingmakers said the judgment had put to rest the claim by Ani to a position that he was not qualified to occupy. It read in part, “On July 4, 2013, the ancient Efik customs and tradition were reaffirmed by the landmark decision of the Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar, in the unfortunate and protracted case brought by Anthony Ani and others against the highly revered Obong of Calabar, Treaty King and Grand Patriarch of the Efik Nation, Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu V and others. “In line with the earlier assertion and submissions of the Etuboms Traditional Council, the court affirmed that capping is a fundamental, non-negotiable and mandatory requirement for a person to become eligible to contest for the throne of Obong of Calabar. “Consequently, the entire Efik community and all well-meaning people welcome the decision of the court that Ani is not traditionally qualified and eligible to contest to be Obong of Calabar. This clearly puts paid to his spurious and vexatious claim to a position that he knows he is not fit for. This simple truth is what we have been insisting on and we shall continue to maintain its sanctity till the end of time.” A state High Court had in suit (HC/102/2008) brought by Ani, challenging his wrongful disqualification from the election that brought Otu to the throne in 2008, declared that the process was null and void. The decision of the lower court was appealed by one Etubom Essien Ekpenyong Efiok and two others in a case with suit no: CA/C/97/2012 in which Otu was joined as the 6th respondent.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Jul 2013 07:03:01 +0000