No fewer than three years now, the Oba Ancient kingdom in Idemili South local government area of Anambra State has continued to enjoy a relatively calm and peace after the communal crisis that rocks.
Years back between the Eziere Mbana and Isu communities of Oba.
*Who Are These Cabals?:* They are those, for their interest, who insisted that they will continue to hold our Great Ancient Oba Kingdom, to ransom. Their Slogan is, *”It must go the way we want it, or, it will not work”.* No wonder, that the process of selection/election of Igwe Ezeokpoko 2 is stalled, because it must go their way.
Speaking to Newsmen in their swift reactions, yesterday Messers Sunday Ifeka Okoye, Ifeanyi Muofunanya, and Anthony Onwubuya appointed their accusing fingers to these Cabals, which include; the Regent; the incumbent PG (who was incorporated into their fold, as soon as his choice person withdrew from the Igwe race; and, on the condition that his stay in the Office will continue to be extended and provided that he will be doing their bid, using his Office.
Recently, according to them, one of the cities was pardoned by both the OPU and the Cabinet, but without most members knowing the reason for the sudden change of hearts, which was to add him to their fold to join him to the force in from Isu, in fighting the masses who had taken a stand on the Isu decision.
“These men have vowed to cage the Great Oba Kingdom, using their foot soldiers, who circulate and post, via voices and write-ups on the Platforms, to deceive the Masses. They are all known and the majority are from their fold.
Oba Concerned revealed that the Struggle By These Cabals is to Frustrate And Stop The 31st December 2022 OPU General Election.
Now, the question is, Why are they insisting that there will be no Election in our December General Meeting of this Election year? The answer is simple; (1), To fulfil their part of the deal with the incumbent PG; (2), The incumbent PG, being with them now can be trusted more than any other coming in, who they do not know and cannot trust yet, to do their bid of selecting who they want as the next Igwe; and who will be ready to help in hiding their several shady Land deals.?
“It is the turn of Umuogali Village to produce the next PG, why is the struggle to stop the Election being fought by the Cabals, the majority of who are from the same Umuogali? Food for thought. They said that they have no personal interest, They still want to hold the forte, to ensure that the selection of the next Igwe must be their choice candidate, as, they, presently, hold the ashes (they have the PG and Committee in charge of the Selection/Election). They are afraid of losing these.
They called on Ndi Oba, to shine open their eyes. So that when some of us write and speak out of ignorance, deceiving the majority of our people, we should know the implications and what may result from it. What we will be saying now is, the Constitutional Provision of having the OPU General Election in December this year; and of the Tenure of Aboji Village, as per, the Office of the PG; and not about who becomes the next Igwe Ezeokpoko.
According to them, Someone, through the Platforms, has reminded people of the dark days of the Idu/Isi Oba and Ndi Igbo/Ime Oba crises.
It could be recalled that it was this same type of exhibition of Personal interest of some persons then, that led to the unfortunate incident. Now, we are drifting to that stage, again. Let the Election be conducted on 31st December 2022.
They expressed dismay over unfortunate circumstances and appealed to the Cabals to allow Oba to remain calm and avoid the use of footsoldiers as we have heard some of them and their foot-soldiers say, ” *Let them go, they can go now, after all, na dem go loose. Last time, they wanted to be autonomous and were stopped. This time, they will not be stopped, they can go, if they want….”*
Oba will never be the same, if they, or, any of them go, we assure us that. They expressed.
They listed Some of the Constitutional Demand For The Election To Be Held This December 31st 2022 by Section 21(5) of the OPU Constitution, the tenure of the Office of the PG/The Zone, shall be for Three Years. And, by Chapter 111, Section 19(1), in the year of the Election, Notice of the Election shall be given within three months.
The Concerned Citizens lamented that this is the year of Election and no such Notice has been given yet, the incumbent PG/Aboji Village Tenure expired last Easter, 2022. But for the plea of the Regent and for the newly amended Constitution to commence with a new regime, i.e, from 31st December, as provided, the Tenure was extended till this 31st December. Why do they not want the Election to be held?
They noted that the Claim By Nze Ifeanyi Onwupenata, That He Conducted The Election Which Ushered In The Incumbent PG is another lie told, to deceive the people of our Ancient Oba Kingdom. The incumbent PG was, by the Constitution, nominated, to replace the dead PG.
“The Election Committee, as headed by Nze Ifeanyi Onwupenata, did not conduct any Election that ushered in the incumbent PG. Let it be known to the people oba the appointment of the Election Committee, as headed by Nze Ifeanyi Onwupenata, was made by the Regime of Chief Ifeatu Uzowulu; and by Section 20(6) of the OPU Constitution, this Election Committee retired, was wound-up and dissolved, immediately, after the Election that ushered in Late Col Onyejegbu, for which it was appointed. After the demise of Onyejegbu, who did not complete his Village’s tenure, his Village, Aboji, nominated Chris Emelie to complete the Village’s tenure. So, it is a fallacy to claim that he, or, his Election Committee conducted the Election that ushered Emelie into Office.
With these, we observed that the Cabals are, presently, cooking up some, not going to be palatable foods, to re-instate the defunct Election Committee, as headed by Nze Ifeanyi Onwupenata and Awaya, to conduct the OPU Election, whenever the Cabals deem fit and in the Easter, or, December of next year, 2023, so that by then, they must have achieved their aim of installing an Igwe of their choice.
The meeting for such took place a few days ago and the move concluded. It should be noted that a new Election Committee appointment cannot be done, without the contributions of the Village Presidents.
” In any case, the State Government has given directives to that effect, as we noticed in a Letter circulated recently on the platform, the period, after 31st December 2022, may not be a period to rejoice, as supposed if OPU General Election is not held.
The concerned citizens revealed this, which alerted them of the looming danger ahead. Because of the personal interest of a few individuals who want to create a crisis in the Oba Kingdom but it cannot work for them.
Information reaching the Concerned Citizens of Oba, has it that the Cabals, through the Regent and his younger brother, in the company of their Sponsor, have visited the Hon. Commissioner for Local Governments Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, to plead with him to rescind his decision to conduct an Election for OPU on the 31st December 2022; their reason is that the tenure of the incumbent PG, has not expired and, as postulated by their Nze Ifeanyi Onwupenata in his last interview with their mouthpiece.
What desperation. This will show Ndi Oba how desperate these Cabals can be. Why do they not want OPU Election to be held at its due date and as provided by the Constitution? Truly, they want to destroy the unity of the great Ancient Oba Kingdom.
They called on n State Government, Law enforcement agencies to come to their aid as Oba doesn’t want a crisis, Although Oba is waiting for the outcome of these desperate actions.
Reacting to the development, the Regent of Oba, Ichie Sir, Noel Ezenwa, debunked insinuations and warned anyone aggrieved people in Oba to be courageous enough to table their problems with their names, as the Oba community has no problem of Igweship nor the PG matters.
According to the Regent, anyone can be a concerned citizen, but one should make allegations, should be courageous enough and be truthful enough to come up with your name on paper to thrash it out.
