THE relationship between business mogul, Arthur Eze, and 13 traditional rulers in Anambra State who were stopped from seeing President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja last week is presently not at its best.
The royal fathers are not happy with Arthur Eze because of the humiliation they suffered when he dragged them to Abuja to see the President in a bid to humiliate Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State.
Eze has been vilifying Obiano over alleged nonpayment of 5 percent revenue earnings of the state to the traditional rulers among others.
His failed move to turn Buhari against Obiano was part of attempts to gain the upper hand in his bid to take over the All Progressives Congress, APC, political structure of the state in readiness for the governorship election in 2021.
The 13 traditional rulers who went to Abuja to meet Buhari but were barred from getting to the Presidential Villa based on security reports are fighting the controversial businessman, who sponsored the ill-fated trip, for what they called their “royal humiliation”.
They are also fighting among themselves on suspicion of betrayal and for Eze’s failue to meet the financial promise he made to them.
“We were promised N250,000 each”, said a monarch from the Anambra Senatorial Zone, “but Uzu Awka, Chief Austine Ndigwe, a former Arthur Eze’s employee, gave us only N100,000 when we were in the palace of the traditional ruler of Ukpo, Dr Robert Eze, Okofia VI.
“The traditional ruler of Alor in Idemili Local Government Area, Igwe Chinedu Mac-Anthony Okonkwo , assured us that we would receive more money on reaching Abuja and even added that the money would be so much that traditional rulers who didn’t travel with us would deeply regret missing out on the largesse”.
They are embarrassed that Obiano has videos of their meetings which he has passed on to some senior administration officials.
“Some of us must be black sheep”, one told journalists, expressing the fear that the videos could leak to the public soon which would lead to their “ultimate disgrace in the state”.
Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Don Adinuba, confirmed that up to a half of the traditional rulers called Obiano in the morning of last Saturday ostensibly to wish him a happy 65thbirthday but ended up providing details of their Abuja visit.
“The funny thing”, according to Adinuba, “is that each told the Governor that he participated in the Abuja trip in order to monitor how his political opponents led by Arthur Eze were plotting against him and accordingly report everything to him”
Since their return at the weekend from the ill-fated trip to Abuja, the traditional rulers and their supporters have been making open moves for a rapprochement with Governor Obiano.
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