By Bianca Iboma-Emefu
The people of Enugwu Ngwo in Enugu State are sophisticated, resourceful and peace-loving. And their bond of brotherhood is profound.
Enugwu Ngwo communities are made up of the following families: Umuozoagu, Umuchikeleze, Umuozochimende, Umuikeagu, Umuishunwadinu, Umuozoamanoh, Umuchief, Umunnadiude, Umunogene, Umuozochimenwalor, Umuonohnwalor, Umuaninwalor, Umuaniezi and Umunnadingene, who firmly and solemnly resolved to live in unity and preserve their common ancestry and one indivisible and indissoluble entity under God Almighty.
For the purpose of peaceful co-existence, communal development and consolidation of their people, they created a congress whose primary duty is to legislate for the communities subject to the approval of the general assembly. In terms of content and character, the Enugwu Ngwo Congress could be likened to the House of Commons.
To ensure adequate representation, the congress consists of two representatives of the council of elders, one representative of ozo title holders, one representative of the knighthood, two representatives of the clergy, two representatives of each of the functional age grades, two representatives from recognised families in Enugwu Ngwo communities, six representatives of women assembly, one representative from each of the chiefs of Enugwu Ngwo communities and two representatives from the Igwes in the Enugwu Ngwo communities, including the Igwe of Ngwa Asaa (if he is from Enugwu Ngwo.
An electoral committee conducts the nomination of the congress and the election of the congress executive not later than one month after the inauguration of the executive of the general assembly. The congress elects from themselves the functionaries at the day of its inauguration. The officers of the congress are speaker, deputy speaker, clerk, deputy clerk, chief whip, deputy chief whip, exchequer/treasurer and public relations officer.
For a person to qualify to be a member of the congress, he/she shall be a native of Enugwu Ngwo; he/she must be of sound mind, not bankrupt, alcoholic nor drug addict. There are a few other requirements.
Duties of the congress include legislating for the communities, approving the list of members of various committees nominated by the executive of the general assembly, approving expenditure exceeding N1 million and have oversight function on the activities of the executive and standing committees, among others.
Offering perspectives into the activities of the congress, the speaker, Prof. Agu Gab Agu, who is an ozo title holder in Enugwu Ngwo, said: “The congress is a representative body that oversees what the executive in the community does. They fashion out laws, direct policies and other things that enhance the standard of living in the community, more especially, to ensure that there is probity in the system.
“The congress is made up of representatives from families, age grade, the clergy, women groups and others. The congress sits on a regular basis, that is, every month and can seat on any other day if they have issues to discuss.
“They have committees that oversee the committees of the executive and draw up programmes for the executive and the community. They also have the task of improving on the constitution already in place.
“Most of the members are distinguished people from the stratas from where they are recommended. Every group wants to get their best into the congress and it has made it very vibrant and they have been doing a lot for the community.
“They handle the land holding system and decide how things will be properly done. And when issues erupt in the community, they always look at it dispassionately because everybody is represented in the congress. They come to a resolution that will be binding and respected because everybody will know they had the opportunity of fair hearing. That is essentially what they are doing.”
According to Agu, in a nutshell, the congress oversees four communities, which are rolled into Enugwu Ngwo.