Ohaneze Ndigbo defends Dickson’s chieftaincy title

Igbo people resident in Bayelsa State under the aegis of Ohaneze Ndigbo have said that Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson deserves the title of ‘Ekwueme’ it conferred on him.
Condemnation trailed the award of the title which means “He who does what he says” by some members of Ohaneze who argued that such title could only be conferred in Igbo land.
Speaking to newsmen after a general meeting of the Ohaneze in Yenagoa yesterday, chairman of the Ohaneze Ndigbo in Bayelsa, Chief Okwudilichukwu Oko, defended their action, saying there was nothing wrong in giving the governor the title even at the Government House.
“This is another man’s land and there is nothing wrong in giving title to a governor in his place. The governor is the chief executive officer in a state. If we give him title, it is not a taboo because we are in his state. Assuming we are from here and have our king here, then we cannot go to the Government House to give him title, instead the governor will come to the palace. We are not the first people who have given such title to a governor in the Government House. The Igwe is aware of the chieftaincy title and anything to do with such title should come from Ohaneze Ndigbo. If you are in any man’s land, you must obey their culture. The title is not political, we gave him the title based on his goodness to our people”, he said.
 He noted that the Bayelsa State government and the Igbos were living harmoniously, pointing out that the appointments of two Igbo sons as Senior Special Adviser and Special Adviser by Governor Seriake Dickson was unprecedented, adding that people should not see anything wrong with the title.