By Labaran Tijani, Lokoja.
The Chairman of Incorporated Trustees of Igala Cultural Development Association (ICDA), Dr Omakoji Oyiguh has described the statement making the rounds, purported to be emanating from Eje Dekina and Acting Chairman Igala Area Traditional Council of Chiefs, Dr Usman Obaje that he deliberately refused to attend the association’s meeting at Anyigba on 17th July 2021as blatant lies and a calculated attempt to smear his image before the enlightened community of Igala ethnic nationality.
In a statement made available to journalists in Lokoja on Sunday and signed by him, Dr Oyiguh hinted that His Royal Highness was duely informed of his inability to attend the said meeting, saying that he wondered why such statements should come from him.
Explaining, Dr Oyiguh stated that he has highest regard to the Eje Dekina and other beaded chiefs of Igala nation, saying that accounted to why he sent a member of Incorporated Board of Trustees, Hon Sunday Alikali to travel early and visit Eje Dekina at his palace very quickly to communicate his ill health condition, when it became obvious that he could not make it to the venue of the meeting as scheduled, which he aptly did.
He added that acting on advice of Ohiegba Mozum when he contacted him over his fragile health condition, he sent a text message to Eje Dekina with his complaint of ill health and inability to attend the said meeting.
“Hon Sunday Alikali made the early morning visit to him in the Palace at Dekina. And I even added in my text message to the Eje Dekina that I was just recovering from a lumbosacral radiculopathy, but despite that had arranged to come, before the onset of the severe Malaria and URTI”, he said in a statement.
Again, he added that on receiving a call from Ogohi Akpacha, his town beaded chief who was to represent Onu Ife at the meeting, to know about the issue at stake, he gave him the run downs and called same Ogohi Akpacha the following morning to express regret that he cannot make it to the meeting on account of malaria infection he was treating, which was not responding to oral medication.
Not relenting, the chairman of the Incorporated Board of Trustees stressed further that he called Ogohi Onu of Anyigba to help him appeal to Ejeh Dekina not to view the inability to attend the meeting as disrespect, saying that Ogohi promised to call the Eje Dekina to inform him ahead of the meeting, which he sure did.
“What should Dr Omakoji Oyiguh have done differently that he has not done? The public should judge!” ,he said.
Dr Omakoji Oyiguh added that on account of this twist in his health he therefore requested Hon Sunday Alikali to stand in for the Incorporated Trustees at the meeting, but he declined for obvious reasons that he cannot stand for the Chairman, Incorporated Trustees at the said meeting.
“I wish to let the general public know I, Dr Omakoji Oyiguh is currently treating severe Malaria and upper respiratory tract infection with members of my family, some of whom took injections earlier, because of the severity of the illness. This can be verified.
“Dr Omakoji Oyiguh, though on oral antimalarial, had arranged with Hon Sunday Alikali, another Incorporated Trustees member, to prepare and attend the said meeting, so that nobody uses it to make any case, as is being done today. This also is verifiable.
“Overnight, the symptoms worsened with cough, catarrh, nose dripping and sneezing, including feverish feeling and headache, possibly due to stress.
“Dr Omakoji Oyiguh is with his pulse oximeter at his bedside monitoring his oxygen saturation regularly. Am also doing steam inhalation. It is a person who is alive who attends a meeting”, he expressed.
He noted that “it is not correct for anybody who is well trained, particularly a medical doctor, to go to the public coughing, sneezing and with nose dripping”.
Dr Omakoji Oyiguh who said he expected commendation from Eje Dekina for making the effort to communicate directly with him on this subject in his palace before the meeting said he expected to get a word of sympathy from same Eje Dekina rather than a backlash.
Dr Omakoji Oyiguh said that he is in regular meeting with the other members of the Incorporated Trustees, particularly Hon David Inah Ogu and Hon Sunday Alikali, stressing that “they know those who are causing problem in ICDA, and would soon make them public”.
“Dr Omakoji Oyiguh and the other members of the Incorporated Trustees are respected citizens and have made their names outside of ICDA. ICDA is a legal entity today and anybody that deals with it should be careful to follow the rules, while we call on the people of goodwill who understand what is going on to remain calm”, he said.
