Suspended Azumini Monarch, Eze Eule, Rejects Abdication Claims

The suspended Traditional Ruler of Azumini Ndoki Ancient Kingdom in Ukwa East Local Government Area of Abia State, HRM Eze Edward Ebere Eule (Onyenweali X), has dismissed widespread speculation that he abandoned his throne or formally relinquished his royal duties.

In a statement personally signed by the monarch and obtained on Monday January 26, 2026, Eze Eule clarified that his absence from the community is due to professional and personal matters in the United States of America, where he has been since May 2025. The retired Professor of Sociology, who lectured for over three decades at Norfolk State University in Virginia before ascending the throne in 2015, described the abdication rumours as “baseless propaganda” aimed at undermining the traditional institution.

“I travelled to the United States of America in May 2025 to attend to some professional and personal matters. I am robustly healthy and fine, and I may soon conclude the task of my sojourn here,” the monarch said in the statement. “I have neither abdicated nor neglected my responsibilities to my subjects. I will cease to be the Eze only when I join my ancestors and the ‘Ofo’ is passed on to my successor.”

The controversy follows the Abia State Government’s suspension of Eze Eule in February 2024 as part of a broader probe into alleged misconduct, including accusations of misappropriation of community funds and administrative irregularities. According to reports, the monarch was initially suspended on February 25, 2024, following recommendations by a state board of inquiry looking into claims of financial and administrative wrongdoing.

Although the suspension was meant to last 30 days, and the monarch was reportedly asked to account for funds linked to community power projects, tensions later escalated, culminating in the purported removal of Eze Eule’s staff of office by the state government — actions that were later contested in court. In its January 2026 response, the monarch referenced a High Court of Abia State ruling that quashed his purported removal, insisting that the judgment “affirmed and legitimised his position as the traditional ruler,” noting that the government’s appeal remains pending.

Eze Eule accused some community elements of exploiting his absence — and the recent theft of the community’s electricity transformer, which left parts of Azumini in darkness — to fuel false narratives about a leadership vacuum. He said the rumours were being propagated by what he described as “mischief-makers operating under the guise of an Interim Ruling Council.”

To ensure continuity in governance, the monarch affirmed his decision to appoint High Chief Okoro Egege, the village head of Uhu De Ogwe, as Traditional Prime Minister to oversee community affairs in his absence, a role that will remain accountable to him until his return.

Eze Eule also renewed his commitment to the welfare and development of Azumini Ndoki, stressing that his temporary relocation will not impede his duties as custodian of the kingdom’s cultural and traditional heritage.