From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi
Following a leadership tussle rocking the Igbo community in Bauchi state, the Eze Igbo, Chief Jude Ifeanyi Umezika has refuted the allegation that he has been dethroned as the leader of the Igbo community in the state.
He described the allegations as base-less and mere speculation, saying that due process was not followed by his opponents to dethrone him from office.
The Eze Igbo, who addressed news men yesterday, at the NUJ press centre in Bauchi, said he has reigned as the Eze Igbo for seventeen years in the state and had no problem with the Igbo community as wrongly insinuated by a faction within the leaders.
He said, “The crisis rocking the Igbo community started about four years ago, when some of our member became hungry for power and started making trouble over the leadership of the community”
“Presently, an impostor known as Hitler Paul Chibuike is going to media houses in the state, declaring himself as the
Eze of Igbo. I want to correct the wrong impression that he has created in the minds of the Igbo community and people of Bauchi state that I have been dethrone. I still remain the Eze of Igbo in Bauchi and I have not been dethroned by anybody”
“Constitutionally, it only the Bauchi emirate council that has the legal powers to dethrone and not a group of individuals within the Igbo community, who are ignorant of the process of dethronement”.
He also debunked the allegation that he has been bought over by state government, stressing that he was only loyal to Governor of the Isa Yuguda and not his errand boy.
