The attention of Oku Ibom Ibibio and President General of the Akwa Ibom State Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers, His Eminence, Ntenyin (Dr.) Solomon Daniel Etuk, CFR, has been drawn to a mischievous news report alleging his involvement in a leadership tussle in Midim Clan in Abak Local Government Area.
A press release by the State TRC said, “The report published by the online news outlet, Newsieevents.com, on Monday, October 21, 2024, went further to claim that the Akwa Ibom revered premier monarch has waded into the said dispute in Midim Clan. This is nothing but a figment of the writer’s imagination.
The statement added, “The poorly written news reports went on to fabricate utter falsehood by insinuating that the Premier Monarch “has appealed to Governor Umo Eno to revoke the certificate of the Midim clan head in Abak LGA, which was mistakenly bestowed on Chief Paul Ebong.”
“Again, the news medium erroneously claimed that Ntenyin Etuk “insists that the rightful heir to the clan council of Midim Clan in Abak LGA is Chief Sylvester Ibanga, who was unanimously selected by the community chiefs.”
“We wish to emphatically state that such an assumption by the mischief makers, alleging the involvement of the President General of the State’s TRC in the said contention in Midim Clan, is entirely misleading, untrue and fallacious since no such matter has ever been brought before him for mediation at all.
“To this end, Ntenyin Etuk has called on the State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, and the general public to disregard such a spurious news report on Midim Clan as it is concocted to satisfy the whims and caprices of its sponsors.
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“For the sake of clarity, the news medium also erred by addressing the Premier Monarch incorrectly as “Chief Ntenyin Solomon Etuk” in their report, which shows complete disregard or naivety about the person it was even referring to altogether.
“Accordingly, the office of the President General of Akwa Ibom State Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers wishes to clarify that there are extant laws covering all aspects of the traditional institution in the state in which offices, such as that of a clan head, are included. Therefore, ascension to any office is subject to the law and, where necessary, the convention adopted by the communities concerned.
“Therefore, trying to rope in the President General of Akwa Ibom State Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers in a matter he knows nothing about amounts to disrespect, and we wish to warn that such callous acts will not be tolerated any longer, no matter who is involved.
“We therefore appeal to the media and members of the public to always seek appropriate clarification on any chieftaincy matter of interest, firstly from the Paramount Ruler whose local government area is involved and the Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers, to avoid making a baseless assumption or publishing libellous contents.”
