BREAKING NEWS: Imo community protests imposition of caretaker committee

Agbakwuru, Nwigwe and other protesters during the protest in Owerri

 Residents of Obiangwu community in the Ngor Okpala local Government Area of Imo State have taken to the streets to protest the imposition of community executives.

They also demanded the resignation of the council chairman, Hon. Chika Ibekwe, and the councilor representing Obiangwu ward, Chibuike Agbugba.

The protesters, led by a former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ngor Local Government Area, Chief Clement Nwigwe, and the All Progressive Congress Ward Chairman of Obiangwu/Ezemba, Chief Emmanuel Agbakwuru, chanted solidarity songs and displayed placards of various inscriptions

Some of the inscriptions read,”Hon Obinna, save us from the hands of wicked men. Ngor Okpala is bushy, Chike Ibekwe, come and clear the grasses. We are for peace, so listen to save us. Obiangwu people are peace loving”, amongst others.

They stormed the offices of the Imo State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Ruby Emele and the Speaker of Imo State House of Assembly, Hon Chika Olemgbe, where they submitted their petitions.

Addressing the protesters, the spokesperson, Chief Clement Nwigwe explained that the council chairman Ibekwe was directed to set up a caretaker committee following the voluntary renouncement of the position by erstwhile President General of the Union, Maxwell Opara due to overstretched tenure and health issues

However, he alleged that rather than involving them in the selection process, the council boss unilaterally selected loyalists from the eight villages.

Nwigwe said, “We are people from Obiangwu Ward 10 on a peaceful demonstration to register our position that we don’t want the members of the caretaker committee. We want the local government chairman and our Councilor removed

“We won’t accept their Caretaker Committee and we stand by our own village agreement that we will nominate the members. We want to adhere to what the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs directed that we should tidy up and get ready for the election.”

He called on the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Ruby Emele and the member representing NgorOkpala state constituency, Hon. ObinnaEgu, to dissolve the Caretaker Committee as announced by the LG boss.

He also called on him to quickly supervise the process of nominating a Caretaker Committee members for each of the eight villages of Obiangwu in line with the resolution of the stakeholders’ meeting held last Sunday.

However, in a swift reaction, a former Special Adviser to Governor Hope Uzodimma on Primary Health and indigene of Obiangwu, Dr. Perry Njoku dismissed the protest as baseless and misguided

He alleged that the crowd were hired and not Obiangwu people.

Njoku who said he was mandated by the general Obiangwu Community on the issue disclosed that the council chairman had set up a Caretaker Committee as directed by the Commissioner ahead of the purported meeting of the protesters.

He disclosed that the former President General of Obiangwu Development Union, Maxwell Opara had complained that their tenure had served 13 years and had overstayed and requested to hand over immediately for health reasons, a request that was accepted.

Njoku described the stakeholders’ meeting as a nullity as it was not organized nor conducted by any known authority in Obiangwu Community adding that the council boss appointed and inaugurated the ODU Caretaker Committee in line with the directive of the State Government.

Further, he said the nine member Caretaker Committee were drawn from all the villages in Obiangwu adding that already, the committee had commenced work in earnest, saying the public and Imo State Government should discountenance the protest and petition of what he termed opposition group sponsored by people abroad seeking to disrupt the peace in their communities.

“The local government Chairman before setting up the caretaker committee reached out to all the stakeholders including the traditional ruler. The committee has representatives from the eight villages in Obiangwu they are responsible people in society.

“None of them is a riff-raff. Let me restate that those protesters were hired because no Obiangwu person joined that protest. It is just a few people who want to hijack our community. They won’t contribute to develop our people or area but are willing to sponsor unrest for those of us residing here”, Njoku said.

He maintained that the Caretaker Committee comprised of people of pedigree who had held public offices in the past and served well as against the petitioners.

Njoku said Obiangwu Community was calm and peaceful after the inauguration of the committee and that the community was solidly behind Governor Uzodimma and the ruling APC in appreciation of their son, Dr Cliff Ogbede into SEDC.