The Cross River State House of Assembly has confirmed the appointment of His Royal Majesty, Ovai Solomon Osim Edward, Paramount Ruler of Abi Local Government Area as the Chairman of the State Traditional Rulers Council.

The Assembly confirmed the Paramount Ruler during plenary on Wednesday following their deliberation on a correspondence forwarded to it by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Anthony Owan-Enoh on behalf of the State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu.

The legislators, who interacted with the Paramount Ruler, observed that the nominee was very qualified for the position and expressed confidence that Ovai Edward would bring his wealth of experience to bear in the discharge of his duty as Chairman of the Traditional Rulers Council.

In separate remarks, the lawmakers eulogised the Abi Paramount Ruler describing him as an “arbiter of peace”, “a man of his words”, “a man of integrity”, “a Godly man”, as well as “a man with pedigree.”

They commended Governor Otu for the choice of the nominee for Paramount rulership.

On his part, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem, congratulated the paramount ruler on the appointment before calling for a motion towards the confirmation.

Earlier, the member representing Abi State Constituency and Deputy Majority Leader of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Davies Etta, who opened the debate on the confirmation, maintained that Ovai Edward had been able to unify most of the warring communities in the Abi Local Government Area and brought peace to the LGA.

He expressed confidence that his tenure will usher in peace, unity and progress in the state. It could be recalled that the state governor recently declared the position vacant following the expiration of the tenure of the immediate past Chairman of the Traditional Rulers Council who had completed his tenure.