Enugu Community Accuses Traditional Ruler of Fuelling Town Union Crisis

Nseobong Okon-Ekong

The people of Agunese in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State have blamed the unease and apprehension in the town on plots by the traditional ruler, Igwe Cyprian Maduabuchi Nevobasi, to hijack the running of the town union.

Prominent members of the community disclosed that the traditional ruler has been using security agents to haunt those opposed to his devious plans to impose unaccountable leaders on the town union.

They alleged that the traditional ruler does not want enlightened members of the community to superintend over the development of the town, insisting that people should be allowed to elect credible persons to move Agunese forward.

In an interaction with journalists, stakeholders of the community, including the member representing the town in the state House of Assembly, Hon. O. J. Chukwuobasi, a candidate in the botched town union election of December 30, 2021, Mr. Simon Okeke and Prince Linus Okoli, the community said the way out of the quagmire is for Igwe Nevobasi to withdraw unfounded petition to the security agencies.

According to the stakeholders, the crisis boiled over on December 30, 2021, when the Igwe truncated the town union election when it became obvious that his crony would not be re-elected.

They disclosed: “On the day of the election after delegates from the villages namely; Enugu Affam, Uhuoghe, Ibite Agbo, Ibite Ugwu, and Eziajanu gathered at the community town hall to hold the election, Igwe Nevobasi stormed the venue and announced the postponement of the election.      

 “He said he received an imaginary phone call from security agencies asking him to postpone the election. After disrupting the exercise he wrote petitions to the Department of State Services (DSS) alleging that the opponents of his preferred candidate were sponsoring the unknown gunmen in the town.”

The stakeholders further claimed that the President General, Laz Udeh, whose tenure expired was a personal assistant to the traditional ruler, stressing that the PG could not give account of the town union’s revenue and expenditure throughout his tenure.

According to the lawmaker representing the area in the state House of Assembly, there was no sign of possible breach of peace before the proposed election even as he expressed surprise that the security agencies should reach the Igwe without his (lawmaker’s) input.

Tracing the genesis of the misunderstanding to the chieftaincy tussle that preceded the selection of Igwe Nevobasi, the legislator who hails from Agunese disclosed that the traditional ruler has no active role to play in the town union election.  

Chukwobasi stated: “The election was a democratic process that will bring about electing a leader, who will preside over the union for the next four years. Ordinarily, the Igwe has no role in that. But as an influential person in the community, he has an interest and that interest will affect things by and large.

“He is not ordinarily supposed to interfere both constitutionally and in Enugu State’s law. The town union is under the Ministry of Rural Development, while the Traditional ruler is under the ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters.

 “Until, when we left the place, there was no threat whatsoever that would warrant the petition to the DSS that some people were members or sponsors of IPOB and ESN. There have been no issues or problems of IPOB or ESN in Mmaku throughout this period of insecurity in the South-east.

 “The people mentioned in the petition are known to the community and to the community leaders, most of them are chairmen of business outfits, who are living outside the state.”

Also, Simeon Okeke and Prince Linus Okoli, said the attempt to smear members of the community who were spearheading the town’s self help development projects with alleged association with unknown gunmen was to turn them away from the community’s affairs.

While pleading with the Enugu State Government to intervene in the matter, Okoli said the best way to resolve the matter is for the Igwe to withdraw his frivolous petition to the security agencies.

However, when contacted, Igwe Nevobasi said all those named in the petition should do is to go answer, noting that as the chief security officer of the community he did the right thing by petitioning the security agencies.

Igwe Nevobasi, who operates in South Africa, said “These people brought unknown gunmen to my community, they brought unknown gunmen on the 30th of December, I told them who are these people on military fatigue, everybody denied it.

“I wrote a petition to the governor, I wrote to the police, these people I can give them your number they will show it to you, the platform where they contributed N6.7million to destabilise the community, so when I saw there was problem on the election day, I postponed the election to April so that they could be calm.”

On whether his position as Igwe entitled him to interfere in town union election, Nevobasi said: “The constitution said wherever there is such a problem I should postpone the election, so what I have done is that I have seen they are going to kill each other, I postponed the election till April and the constitution said I should put an interim government and that is what I have done.”

Villagers maintain that by returning the unpopular PG, whose tenure had expired, the traditional ruler made his interference very obvious thereby escalating tension in the community, just as security agents have continued to hunt the members of the Way Forward Committee propelling the socio-economic development of Agunese community.