As Branch Chairmen insist on a neutral panel of enquiry, urging governor’s intervention
The branch chairmen of Eziowelle Improvement Union, EIU have vehemently rejected the Town Union election scheduled to hold on the 29th day of June, 2024 following what they described as insensitive and unconstitutional decision of the panel led by the Hon Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Hon Tony Collins Nwabunwanne.
The group disclosed this in a letter to the Governor of Anambra State Prof Chukwuma Charles Soludo, dated June 18th, 2024 and signed by Ezenwa Azie for the Emergency General Assembly as presented below;
Your Excellency Sir,
SAVE OUR SOULS (S.O.S.).
THE EZIOWELLE IMPROVEMENT UNION (E.I.U.) IMBROGLIO.
“Finally, politicians may design new laws that, while seemingly impartial, are crafted to target opponents.” … Steven Hevitsky.
Civilized societies the world over is a creation of law so as to avoid the Hobbessian state of nature. Anambra State and Eziowelle Improvement Union cannot be an exception to this universal rule. It’s pertinent to state that Mr. Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Hon. Tony Collins Nwabunwanne is fully briefed on Eziowelle Imbroglio.
We have displayed uncommon democratic character by allowing our former President General, Barr. Titus Akpudo to exhaust his second tenure of office since June 30,2021, but holding on to power unconditionally is against the tenets of the rule of law.
It’s therefore a sad development that despite the unambiguity of the powers of the Branch Chairmen and Secretaries as stipulated in Article XVI (d) of Eziowelle Improvement Union constitution(1992). Mr. Commissioner, Hon. Tony Collins Nwabunwanne has because of his friendship with Barr. Titus Akpudo bluntly refused to allow the Emergency General Assembly (E.G.A) to perform its constitutional duties of administering the affairs of the union on the interim until election is conducted. The position of the constitution is that the administration of Eziowelle Improvement Union is the the exclusive preserve of the three Branch Chairmen, and nothing more.
You cannot build on nothing and expect it to stand. The claim by the Hon. Commissioner that he met only the 2020 Eziowelle Constitution in the Eziowelle file on assumption of office is a fallacy. Our lawyer Barr. H.N.C Moghalu at our instance wrote the ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters demanding certified true copies of all Eziowelle Constitutions in their custody. In response, they obliged us with both certified true copies of the 1992 constitution and the bastard 2020 constitution.
We have maintained absolute humility in our repeated written communications to the State Government, due largely to the long term consequences of this impunity caused by our former President General, Barr. Titus Akpudo. We have truly exhausted our patience with Mr. Commissioner’s mishandling of Barr. T. Akpudo’s lawlessness in Eziowelle Community.
In our previous letters, we severally complained about the trust deficit and Mr. Commissioner’s vested interest in the matter because of his closeness to our former PG, Barr. Titus Akpudo. We have also in the past registered our displeasure at the clandestine scheming of Barr. Akpudo and his Commissioner friend to usurp the legitimate powers of the Emergency General Assembly ably led by the three Branch Chairmen and Secretaries of Onitsha, Lagos and Abuja.
That is obviously an affront on Eziowelle Improvement Union constitution (1992) and the rule of law. We will vehemently oppose the avowed ploy by Mr. Commissioner to throw away our genuine constitution and impose his will on Eziowelle Community just to make sure that his friend Barr. Titus Akpudo produces a successor for soft landing.
“The best way to solve any problem is to remove it’s cause”….Martin Luther king Jr.
We are displeased with Mr. Commissioner’s self – denial and obvious insensitivity to an obvious constitutional position. We will be fooling ourselves to think that tomorrow, there will be a peaceful election with this kind of manipulated scheming by Barr. Akpudo and Mr. Commissioner.
We want a free, fair and transparent election in Eziowelle Improvement Union; an election that will be conducted according to the provisions of the union’s constitution (1992).
Is it not a shame that the supposed leader of all the President’s General in Anambra State could not conduct ordinary town union election at the expiration of his second tenure on June 30,2021, almost three years ago? And, instead of punishing him, for continuing to parade himself as PG, Mr. Commissioner is shielding and supporting him to perpetuate anarchy in Eziowelle Community. This manoeuvring will eventually exacerbate the problem in the union rather than resolve existing tensions.
Every effort made by Mr. Commissioner in resolving this constitutional crisis is an indication that he is doing the bidding of his friend, Barr. Titus Akpudo. We are only obeying our instincts not to trust someone who has failed us repeatedly.
From the foregoing therefore, we can no longer trust him to do justice to this matter.
Our position, however is as follows;
- We want him to recuse himself from handling this matter.
- To stop the purported Eziowelle PG Election Schedule to hold on Saturday 29th June 2020, that a Panel of Enquiry or Committee of selected people with integrity be set up to investigate the remote and immediate cause(s) of the crisis in Eziowelle Improvement Union.
- That the union election unconstitutionally scheduled by the traditional ruler of the community should be put on hold until investigations on the matter are concluded.
- Finally, that the State Government should should as matter of urgency and in compliance with the provisions of the union’s constitution (1992) authorize the only constitutionally recognized organ of the union, the Emergency General Assembly to run the affairs of the union until this matter is resolved.
God bless Anambra State.
Yours faithfully
Ezenwa Azie 08037356005
For: The Emergency General Assembly
CC: 1. The Special Adviser, Local Government Affairs.
