• Anambra community in crisis over selection of traditional ruler, town union leaders
From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
Oba community in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State used to be a lively, peaceful and progressive community. With an array of distinguished personalities who have excelled in business, education and various other endeavours like law, engineering, medicine among others, the community has a popular Igbo slogan often cited by other communities – Ife di na Oba literally meaning that treasures abound in Oba.
Palace of the late Eze Okpoko 1 of Oba
Such was the affinity and brotherly love that bound people of Oba together among the nine villages that make up the community which are Abime, Aborji, Ezelle, Isu, Ogbenwe, Ogwugwu, Okuzu, Umuogali and Urueze.
Late Igwe PC Ezenwa of Oba
The first traditional King of Oba town was Igwe Peter Chukwuma (P.C) Ezenwa ( Eze Okpoko I of Oba). (1926-2018) .
Igwe Ezenwa was on the throne as the traditional ruler of Oba for 42 years until he passed on in 2018. His funeral activities and last Ofala in December 2018 was supposed to herald the seamless ushering in of a new traditional ruler. Unfortunately, that was not to be.
Prince Noel Ezenwa
Five years after the late Igwe Ezenwa’s funeral, Oba has been without a traditional ruler and is also presently enmeshed in an intractable crisis over the election of a town union executive in which the constitution of the community vested the power for the election of a new traditional ruler .
Various stakeholders and groups have been singing discordant tunes and stoking tension in the community. As it stands now, it may be by divine intervention that the proposed election of a new town union executive slated for 31st December, 2023 becomes a reality.
Osita Ubadi
The community town union affairs are presently under an Interim (caretaker) Town Union Government (ITUG) headed by Osita Ubadi, constituted by the Anambra State Government via its Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters.
The traditional rulership council is also under the control of Prince Noel Ezenwa, first son of the late traditional ruler who is now holding forth as the regent of the community pending the election and coronation of a new traditional ruler.
Most of the stakeholders in the community don’t defer to the ITUG leadership, which they describe as an aberration and a misnomer. According to them, Oba’s constitution doesn’t recognise any caretaker arrangement.
But the Anambra State government said the ITUG is a child of necessity which came into being in order to fill up a vacuum and prevent an imminent crisis that would have rocked the community following the death of the former President-General, Col Onyejegbu (RTD) who died in office after seven months.
Now, the reconstituted ITUG headed by Ubadi is supposed to wind up on 31st December 2023 when new town union executives are billed to be elected during the Oba General Town Meeting.
But tension is building up because there are feelers that the ITUG may not be disposed to leaving office on that day, even as it is also working to elect and present an Igwe for the community. Many in the town insist the ITUG has power to execute such a task. This controversy has led to various litigations, counter litigations and various court orders
The situation has also thrown up various groups and stakeholder groups in the community who have risen up at one time or the other to speak up or take some far-reaching steps over the situation.
Why I sacrificed my tenure as PG – Rev Emelie
Rev. Chris Emelie was the legally recognised President General of Oba community who succeeded late Onyejegbu after the latter’s demise and following the brief tenure of then acting PG, Mr Cliford Elendu.
Speaking with Saturday Sun, Rev. Emelie, a clergyman and University of Nigeria Nsukka trained industrial chemist, noted that Col Onyejegbu died seven months into his three-year tenure.
He said it was inhuman to conduct an election for a new PG when the dead one was still lying stone cold in the mortuary.
“I was finally elected in 2020 after the burial of the former PG, and my tenure was supposed to elapse by 2023. But the people were pushing for my ouster.
He said some people were interested in making the constitution of Oba irrelevant because of their vested interest in the Igweship election.
“Legally speaking, I’m still the PG of Oba community but being a man disposed to peace, I had to stay action which I’ve already initiated in court. I handed over all materials to the BOT Chairman of Oba Patriotic Union and walked away.”
Rev. Emelie said his injunction in court had not been vacated when the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters constituted a caretaker and appointing Osita Ubadi chairman. He said Ubadi soon shunned the title of chairman and started calling himself President General.
He said he was surprised that the Osita Ubadi committee changed from bringing peace to the town to fully administering the community.
“The intention is no more to reconcile because he (Ubadi) has never called for a peace meeting. If I was the problem, my exit would have solved all the problems in Oba. But the Ubadi-led ITUG is overreaching its boundaries by now working to produce an Igwe, and they don’t have the power.”
He said only an elected town union executives controlled by the PG has the constitutional power to select or elect an Igwe for the community. He said that is the only way forward for peace and truce in the community.
Why I went to court
– Mgbeafulukwe
Lawrence Mgbefulukwe, a former chairman of the Ekwenchi family kindred in Isu, Oba, who retired as a police chief, told the reporter that he went to court to stop the “characters who wanted to pull a stunt by producing an Igwe for the community through the backdoor.”
Mgbafulukwe said the court option which restrained the Osita Ubadi led ITUG from presenting an Igwe to the government on behalf of the community was to bring Oba back to civility and constitutionalism.
He said some people were hell-bent on imposing a disqualified person as a traditional ruler on the people.
“My going to court brought peace because since then, all their plans to impose a disqualified person on Oba have been scuttled. Before then, there was serious tension as they gave a date- 27th August 2023 for a new Igwe.
“I have studied the constitution and never saw anywhere it is mentioned that an interim government or caretaker should take over in case of vacuum over the PG. It was stated that the Board of Trustees should be in charge but they foisted an interim government on us” he said.
Our regent preventing peace – ITUG Chairman
Osita Ubadi, chairman of Oba Interim Town Union Government (ITUG) who addressed himself as President General of Oba accused the regent, Prince Noel Ezenwa of frustrating efforts to restore peace in Oba.
He said Chris Emelie’s tenure ended April 2022 and election was supposed to hold but the regent pleaded that their tenure be extended due to one thing or the other and everybody agreed. He said the regent and Rev Chris Emelie also frustrated the next election planned for December 31st 2022, saying their tenure would end in April 2023.
“They were looking for trouble and most of the nine villages met and said no, that the election should take place.”
He said an electoral committee was set up by government when Rev Emelie went to court to scuttle the election. He said the government took the decision to constitute an interim government that will now hold an election on the next constitutional date, which is December 31 2023.
Ubadi said his team had been trying to make peace in Oba but accused the regent of frustrating those peace moves.
Ubadi agreed that the election of an Igwe was not originally part of his committee’s brief but said things changed after the commissioner met with the interim government members, Ichies and Chiefs of Oba. He said the meeting reached several resolutions including decision for the BOT and the interim government working together to ensure that peace is restored, withdrawing all court cases and accepting the interim government by all.
He said that when they returned to the Government House to give the commissioner a feedback, “Chairman of Board of Trustees, Chief B. N Onyeka told the commissioner that if the Igwe selection process, including the Igwe selection committee constituted by Rev. Chris Emelie is not resolved, then no progress has been made. It was in that meeting that we all agreed that we will resolve the issue of Igwe first while the election of the town union on December 31 will be the climax of the celebration of peace in Oba and the new Igwe.”
Ubadi claimed the commissioner said the ITUG should conclude the process by selecting an Igwe out of the three candidates screened which the village quarters presented.
He confirmed that when they came back from the Awka meeting, some of the contestants for the Igwe position went to town with wrong information and different narratives that would suit their fancies.
Brandishing a letter signed by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Hon. Tony – Collins Nwabunwanne, he said a fresh mandate to select the Igwe has been given to the ITUG under his leadership.
He accused the regent of instigating people to file applications against the ITUG and the process in court.
He said he is walking in tandem with Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Chief B. N Onyeka to conclude his committee’s assignment.
Regarding the 31st December 2023 date for general meeting and election, he said an electoral committee led by Ndubuisi Maduekwe has been inaugurated and that they are working to make sure the election holds. But he noted that about seven persons have sued dragged him to court to frustrate the election. He insisted that if the election must hold, the litigants must withdraw the court cases.
He said his committee would do whatever the government wants for the Igwe’s selection.
“The regent doesn’t want peace in Oba because he knows that if a new Igwe emerges, he ceases to be relevant and because the people at home has known the truth, he has gone global to look for those in Diaspora who don’t know what is on ground here” Ubadi alleged.
ITUG has no business with selection of Igwe
– Regent Ezenwa
When the reporter contacted the Regent of Oba, Prince Noel Ezenwa, he blamed the problem of the community on the commissioner, Nwabunwanne whom he said imposed an interim government on the people of Oba without following democratic norms.
He said that with the ITUG in place, those who were part of the problem have been conscripted to come and resolve the problem. He said the interim government has delayed the process for a properly constituted town union leading to suffering and abuse of the people.
He said Oba has a well laid out constitution that spells out the process of bringing out a town union or the Igwe.
The regent said he made it clear that he is not interested in the Igweship. Since his late dad occupied the throne for over 40 years, he noted, another village quarter must produce the Igwe. But he said the ITUG should not spend a day longer than the December 31 2023 date.
“One day extra stay by the ITUG beyond the 31st December 2023 set date will amount to a taboo in Oba community because their stay has caused so much damage for the Oba community already. People are unnecessarily being stressed out and the sooner we resolve the issues, the better for all of us. The town needs peace seriously.
“It is another abomination for a non- democratically elected town union to delve into the Igwe selection process. The process that will bring a new traditional ruler for Oba should be such that has the foundation in honesty, transparency and in tandem with the constitution and in mass desire of our people to have a democratically chosen traditional ruler. Anything short of that is a deceit for all of us,” the regent stated.
Some don’t want to relinquish power in Oba -Commissioner
When the reporter contacted Anambra State Commissioner for local government and chieftaincy matters, Hon. Tony Collins Nwabunwanne, he said the only problem in Oba community is that some people didn’t want to relinquish power.
Nwabunwanne said the Soludo administration met many community town unions under caretaker arrangement and desires to change such to democratically elected ones. He said that in the Oba scenario, the tenure of the president general expired having taken over after the first PG died seven months in office.
He said the bye election that brought in the PG clearly stated that he was to serve out the tenure of the fallen PG but along the line the regent pleaded with the people to allow the Emelie executives to continue in office and his tenure extended for six months.
Nwabunwanne said the regent was invited when the villagers complained and he was told to get his people’s consent. He said the people said no to that request.
He said it was someone from Umuogali village who is interested in the PG seat that stirred the people to insist on election but said the regent masterminded the man’s impeachment from his village quarter.
He said government acted in the best interest of the community to constitute an interim government when it discovered that the regent and his supporters blocked every avenue for a democratic election.
He also accused the regent of holding unto the PG seat and scuttling efforts for a new PG and Igwe because they were making money from selling land.
The commissioner said that the truth came out when the entire stakeholders were invited for a meeting in Awka and they agreed that the interim government should continue the process of selecting an Igwe among those who were disqualified before now.
He said one of the contention over the Igwe selection is that the constitution said one must be able to read and write but someone was disqualified for not being able to read and write ‘fluently’ and another was also disqualified for not being able-bodied because he had a deformity.
“I told them that to go back and start the Igwe selection process afresh will bring lots of disputes because the ones disqualified will definitely go to court to challenge it. They should go back and assess those three people and pick the most qualified among the three because the process was wrong initially.
“You cannot disqualify someone because the person cannot read and write perfectly or that the person is not fluent.
“Government cannot impose a traditional ruler or a PG on any community. That is not done under my watch but what we are saying is if you are following the constitution and due process, please do it the right way”.
He reiterated the resolve of the government to conduct an election for the town union of Oba on December 31 and also said he and the government have no interest in who becomes both the PG and Igwe. He also gave the reporter a copy of the resolutions reached by the Oba community with government over the lingering crisis.
Interventions by various interest groups
A member of Ibeayifa Association, Nwanne Ejikeme however disagreed with the commissioner that someone who cannot read or write ‘fluently’ is eminently qualified to be a traditional ruler. He said Oba cannot afford to entrust the affairs of its traditional institutions in the hands of anyone not sound academically.
The Ibeayifa Association had brokered a meeting among the Regent-in-Council, the OPU BOT and the ITUG where all parties agreed to hold the election of a new OPU Executive on December 31 2023. They also agreed that the tenure of the ITUG will terminate on that date with the swearing in of the newly elected OPU Executive.
Other interest groups and Associations of Oba indigenes who had sued for peace and proffered solutions to the leadership problems in Oba include the OPU Americas USA, OPU UK and Ireland, Otu Udo n’Oganiru USA, Adaeze Social Club and others.
Meanwhile, an Anambra state High Court sitting at Awka presided over by Justice Tagbo Anieto has issued an Order of Interlocutory Injunction against Osita Ubadi and Chuba Oranusi for themselves and the representing members of the ITUG from electing, appointing, selecting or presenting to the Anambra State Government the name of Chief Okwuduba Anyaora or any person as the traditional ruler of Oba or taking any further steps towards the selection, election or appointment of any person as the traditional ruler of Oba pending the determination of the Motion on Notice.
As at the time of filing this report, the court order has not been vacated.
As it stands now, all eyes are fixed on the December 31 proposed date for the town union election in Oba community.