By Chinonso Alozie

Owerri—Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, yesterday, handed over staff of office and certificate of recognition to eleven traditional rulers in the state, after fifteen years of ezeship tussle.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, stated this in a release issued to newsmen in Owerri.

The governor was not happy that the ezeship crises had resulted to loss of lives of “innocent souls.”

According to the release, “You are products of justice and so you must continue to maintain justice. For many years, most of your communities had remained without traditional rulers resulting to the killing of innocent souls and building walls of hatred in the communities and the division had created indirect poverty in the system as you no longer work together as members of one community and as brothers and sisters.

“Today, your rising as traditional rulers has marked an end to injustice and will bring progress in your various communities.

“This is the first time in Imo State that we are trying to have ezes in all the communities in the state. “We have over 644 autonomous communities but had less than 500 Ezes at any given time. This we are trying to address to bring progress to all the communities.”

“Today, let me be the first to congratulate you as Ezes and remind your wives (Ugoezes) that behind every successful Eze is a patient Ugoeze. When you become a traditional ruler, it is an undertaken to sacrifice your time, resources, family pleasures for the interest of the people.