From Judex Okoro, Calabar
Tension is brewing in Calabar metropolis as the Municipal Council chairman, Mr. Efeffiong Nta, allegedly deployed soldires and locked out the traditional rulers ahead of scheduled interactive session with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship campaign organisation.
The PDP campaign organisation has been on consultative meetings with relevant stakeholders including the traditonal rulers across the state.
But in Calabar Municipality it was a different ball game as the royal fathers, led by the Ndidem of The Quas and Grand Patriarch of the Ejagham Nation, Ndidem Eta Eteta, were locked out from having access to the council of chief chambers located within the council premises.
When Daily Sun visited the council secretrait, the traditional chambers secreatrait were under lock and key with the Paramount Ruler and his cabinet seen sitting outside in protest against the action of council chairman.
Within the council secretariat, armed soldiers attached to Operation Akpakwu ( state security outfit) and said to be deployed by by chairman,
Mr. Efeffiong Nta, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were seen in strategic places monitoring people moving in and out of the secretariat.
A council staff who preferred anonymity revealed that the council boss personally locked the chamber in tje wee hours of the day and left with the keys, insisting that the Royal Fathers can not play host to an opposition party within his domain.
He said: “He also gave a directive that no meeting of whatever kind should take place in the Secretariat. I am working based on directive.”
Asked if there was issue with the secretariat, he said: “There is no issue here, the traditional rulers met here this month of January.”
Addressing journalists in front of the traditional chambers, the Paramount Ruler of Calabar Municipality, Ndidem Eta Eteta, described the action of the council chairman as an “affront and unmitigated embarrassment to the traditonal stool.
Decrying such ugly development, the Paramount Ruler said: “We came here today following the request of the PDP for a meeting members of the traditional institution in Calabar Municipal by 2:00pm only to discover that our Chamber has been locked to deny us access.
“This is why we are outside here. I have never been subjected to this sort of embarrassment and we don’t know why. We are disturbed. Whoever did that should return the key to us and let it not happen again because we won’t take the insult anymore.
“We should stop insulting traditional rulers. Let the government respect our stools.
This chamber is the official venue for all our routine engagements.”
When Daily Sun put a call across to the mobile number of thw council chairman, Efdefiom Nta, there waa no reapons.