Etubom Anthony Ani, former Minister of Finance and contestant to the Obong of Calabar throne, Tuesday, restated his claim to the Obong of Calabar stool by declaring that he is the Obong of Calabar and nobody can stop it.
Etubom Ani, who spoke when the Ikot Offiong Royal House paid him a solidarity visit, noted that he was selected by the remaining seven Etuboms alive, who carried out the process for selection of Obong to succeed Nta Elijah Henshaw, who died in 2008 and in accordance with the directives of the Supreme Court, which ordered that the feuding parties laying claim to the stool should return to the drawing board to select another Obong.
“After the Supreme Court asked us to return to the drawing board, the Etubom Traditional Rulers Council headed by Etubom Efiok sent a message to Edidem Ekpo Otu to present himself for another selection process but he did not show up and the Etuboms went ahead to select me as the Obong-elect and nobody can stop my being crowned Obong of Calabar.”
He said four out of the seven Etuboms in the Traditional Rulers Council selected him and by virtue of that election, he has been made Obong of Calabar and he would be crowned soon.
Also speaking, Ntufam Asuquo Eyoma, former Nigerian Ambassador to Uganda, said the solidarity visit to the Obong-elect was to show support and after that the Obong-elect in turn would pay royal visits to all the royal houses leading to his crowning.
“Etubom Ani is a true son of Efik and qualified to sit on that stool because both his parents are Efik unlike the other person, whose mother is Efik while his father is not and by that status can never sit on Efik stool as Obong.”
He said Etubom Ani would on Friday meet with the traditional rulers council in Cross River State in readiness for his crowning.