Cross River assembly formalizes appointment of new traditional rulers council chair

Cross River State House of Assembly has approved the appointment of His Royal Majesty, Ovai Solomon Osim Edward, the Paramount Ruler of Abi Local Government Area as the new Chairman, State Traditional Rulers Council.

The  Assembly confirmed his new role during plenary following deliberation on a correspondence forwarded to it by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Anthony Owan Eno, on behalf of the State Governor Prince Bassey Otu.

And while queezing the paramount ruler and certifying him qualified for the position, the lawmakers expressed confidence that Ovai Edward will bring his wealth of experience to bear in the discharge of his duty as Chairman of the Traditional Rulers Council.

In separate remarks during plenary, the lawmakers eulogized the Abi paramount ruler, describing him as an “arbiter of peace”, “a man of his words”, “a man of integrity”, “a Godly man”, as well as “a man with pedigree”.

They commended Otu for the choice of the nominee as the paramount ruler. On his part, the Speaker of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem congratulated the monarch on the appointment before calling for a motion on his confirmation.

Earlier, the member representing Abi State Constituency and Deputy Majority Leader of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Davies Etta who opened debate on the confirmation, maintained that Ovai Edward has been able to unify most of the warring communities in Abi Local Government Area as well as engineer peace in the LGA. He expressed confidence that his tenure will usher-in peace, unity and progress  in the State

Recall that the State Governor recently declared the position vacant following the expiration of the tenure of the immediate past Chairman Etinyin Ekpo Okon Edet, who had successfully completed his tenure.

By: Archibong Emmanuel
(Snr. Reporter)