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BY RAYMOND OZOJI, Awka
From investigations, it is indicative that mere anarchy has been loosed upon Nnobi community in Idemili-South Local Government Area of Anambra State as two quarters, Ebenesi and Awuda are currently enmeshed in supremacy battle over who lords it on the other.
While accusing fingers point in the direction of Ebenesi quarter as secretly plotting to dethrone His Royal Majesty Igwe Nick Obi over alleged inordinate ambitions of some dramatis personae who are said to be endlessly and selfishly interested to become the Igwe even when the incumbent traditional ruler is still alive, hale and hearty.
The President-General Nnobi Welfare Organization (NWO) Barr. Dominic Savio Okpala, on the other hand, held that Awuda quarter which is the last in the order of seniority, has always constituted a cog in the community's wheel of progress.
Okpala who spoke exclusively with this journalist, opined that Awuda always exhibited superiority complex because they always want to impose their positions and opinions on the rest of the community without considerations.
He told this journalist that the rebellious nature of Awuda quarter manifested when they staged a walkout from the Central Executive Council meeting of Nnobi Welfare Organization (NWO) held recently at the town hall.
But the Palace Secretary to His Royal Majesty Igwe Nick Obi, Chief Ezeobi Ajaghaku who accused Ebenesi of using the PG to fight the traditional ruler, said the traditional ruler is a very humble, meek, soft handed and a democratic individual by all standards.
Chief Ajaghaku further alleged that some people from Ebenesi quarter are teleguiding and masterminding his actions and decisions. He said that the PG of the town is teleguided and misguided as well as mustered the effrontery to challenge the authority of His Royal Majesty Igwe Nick Obi and the authority of Awuda community meeting.
The palace secretary maintained that those beating the drums of war in Nnobi community were the same group of coup plotters instigating the President-General against the entire community.
He said that the PG seemed to be oblivious of the fact that the traditional ruler is an institution of its own. That Okpala Nnobi and the Igwe-In-Council are both under the jurisdiction of the traditional ruler.
Chief Ezeobi therefore posited that the President-General of Nnobi Welfare Organization wants to rubbish the traditional ruler because of those beating the drums of war for him. He said that there are people from Ebenesi who are desperately interested in the stool of Igweship of Nnobi community.
The palace secretary who accused Barr. Dominic Savio Okpala (PG) as one of the coup plotters, maintained that the Ebenesi power block even boasted publicly that they would unseat the traditional ruler. That they are on a mission to destroy His Royal Majesty Igwe Nick Obi.
But in his counter response, the PG Barr. Dominic Savio Okpala, noted that all the claims from the palace secretary were all lies from the pit of hell.
Okpala said that the truth of the matter is that Igwe Nnobi is from Awuda quarter and that the norm is that every administration of Nnobi Welfare Organization must conform to the whims and caprices of Awuda community, if not, Awuda people will make the town ungovernable.
Okpala said that his administration came on board and he swore that he would lead with Nnobi town constitution. He said that the town constitution is what he has been implementing without bias to anybody.
He said a Peace Committee was setup to resolve lingering issues in the community. That part of the issues was the undue and unnecessary interference of the traditional institution in the town governance.
He said that the Igwe's meddlesomeness in town union maters has persisted for far too long. This according to him, prompted a letter he wrote to the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs in November last year , stating all he was going through in the hands of the traditional ruler.
The PG said thereafter Igwe's camp wrote a counter letter to the Local Government Commissioner and he equally did a rejoinder and after his rejoinder, Okpala Nnobi whom he said was second to Igwe Nnobi in the traditional ladder, pleaded with the town union to handle the crisis in Nnobi inorder to engender peace.
The PG said Okpala Nnobi and the Onowu then began the peace process in Nnobi community devoid of the involvement of the town union. He said the Peace Committee was a 30-man composition comprising 10 persons from each of the three quarters of Nnobi.
According to him, when the peace report was released a petition came from Awuda quarter that the report should be discountenanced and disregarded because they didn't sign it even though they participated fully in all the discussions and deliberations of the committee.
The President-General also told this journalist that a protest letter emanated from Awuda quarter. The protest letter which was a fallout of the peace committee report was subjected to statutory voting at a recent Central Executive Council meeting of Nnobi Welfare Organization. At the CEC meeting, the PG noted that the protest letter from Awuda community was voted out by delegates and Awuda people staged a walkout from the meeting.
Although he recalled that the CEC meeting continued with other agenda after Awuda people attempted to disrupt the meeting with their stage managed walkout, he said when the peace report was eventually laid down for consideration, the Onowu complained that he has been bombarded with serious threatening phone calls and messages from some members of the Igwe-In-Council that he should not under any circumstance lay the report.
That Onowu Nnobi presented WhatsApp evidence of the threatening messages sent to his phone by some members of the Igwe-In-Council. The PG however informed that nobody would want to takeover the throne of a living monarch because it is not done anywhere.
Okpala maintained that he doesn't know whether anyone is plotting to dethrone His Royal Majesty Igwe Nick Obi but what he can say for certain as the President-General of Nnobi community is that the people are not happy with the unnecessary interference and meddlesomeness of the traditional institution in town union matters.
He said in spite of false media reports creating atmosphere of crisis in Nnobi, the PG maintained that Nnobi is peaceful and there is no crisis whatsoever in the community.
He also said that allegations of protests by youths of the community against his office were all baseless and unfounded as no such thing has ever occurred since he became the PG of Nnobi town.
He said there has never been anything like placard-carrying by youths against his leadership and no petition whatsoever has been written regarding high-handedness in office. That the only problem in Nnobi community is that Awuda wants the entire community to be under its tutelage.
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