Tension as Ekiti herbalists fight over position

 

THE Ekiti State chapter of the National Association of Traditional Medicine Practitioners of Nigeria (NANTMP) has ruled out the option of out-of-court settlement in resolving a leadership crisis rocking the body in the state.

The group said on Saturday that it would not drop its litigation against a factional leader of the body, Chief Dauda Arowa, over his alleged attempt to disorganise   the body by creating a splinter group and allegedly put members into disrepute.

NANTMP, which spoke through its chairman in the state, Chief Joseph Osamika, also pleaded with the state governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, to reconstitute the state’s traditional medicine board.

Chief Osamika said this would help “to lay a good foundation for the progress of the body and its members, in terms of practice and compliance with rules in the state.”

Chief Osamika, who spoke after a NANTMP’s general meeting held at the weekend, said a suit filed by his members against Chief Arowa and others  was still pending before a chief magistrate’s court and urged the defendants to stop acting in a manner that could frustrate the judicial process.

He said he was validly elected to lead the NANTMP in Ekiti through an open and transparent election, saying the reconciliation being sought by the leader of the factional group when a case was pending in Court, was capable of derailing the course of justice.