The people of Obuno-Akpugo autonomous community in Nkanu West local government area of Enugu state yesterday raised alarm over rising tensions in the community due to the stalled election of a new traditional ruler.

The community called on the state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to advise the Ministry of Chieftaincy Matters to expedite action in conducting elections into Igwe’s position and other vacancies as earlier directed by the governor. The people of Obuno also stressed that election in the executives of the town union and Neighbourhood Watch should be conducted without delay.

In a letter addressed to the Enugu State Ministry of Chieftaincy Matters on behalf of the community members by the out-going President General of Obuno-Akpugo Town Union, Augustine Okoye, which was made available yesterday, the people alleged that some individuals in the community were trying to take advantage of the vacuum to ferment trouble.

A major stakeholder, Okwy Agbo said the community has been without a traditional ruler for several years even as there was a need for fresh elections into the town union and neighbourhood watch executives respectively.

Agbo said that following earlier intervention of Governor Ugwunayi on the matter, he directed the community to go and discuss and communicate a date of election to the Ministry of Chieftaincy Matters to come and observe the process for the election of a new traditional ruler. He said that after a meeting of a cross-section of stakeholders in the community, they resolved and wrote the Ministry of Chieftaincy Matters to come and observe their elections on September 20 and 28, 2019 and October 5, 2019, respectively.

Agbo alleged that while the community was waiting for the election, information filtered to them that one Jac Nwatu and a few others had written to the state governor requesting that a certificate of recognition be issued to Nwatu as kingmakers purportedly selected him as Igwe. But when contacted, Nwatu declined to comment, saying “I don’t have anything to do with Agbo”.(The Guardian)

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