Slug: Awka indigenes sack leaders from parading selves, constitute caretaker c’ttee

Indigenes of the Awka town comprising of seven communities converged yesterday at the village square to sack the leaders of its town union led by Engr Tony Okechukwu, citing expiration of its tenure since 17^th March 2015.

 

The eldest man in the town who was represented by the second eldest, Chief Nwabude Nwachukwu stated that the reason for the meeting was the refusal of members of the Awka Development Union(ADU) to vacate office and allow for the conduct of a fresh election having completed its tenure.

 

The meeting which was attended by prominent Awka sons turned out to be power play of sort as the disbanded leaders of the community having had a clue into the reason for the meeting had tried to scuttle it using security forces and citing it as an unauthorized gathering.

 

The meeting however proceeded when elites from Awka town intervened through higher authorities, leading to the withdrawal of security forces sent in to stop the convergence.

 

Sources who spoke to our correspondent said that the Engr Tony Okechukwu led executive were reluctant to conduct any election into the executive because they want to continue to remain in office, despite having exhausted their three year term.

 

To forestall a vacuum, seven representatives were appointed from all the communities in the town to constitute a caretaker committee to oversee the affairs of the town, with a charge to conduct election for the town within a space of three months.

 

Chief Amobi Daniel Nwokafor, a prominent son of the town in an interview with our correspondent said that no one can hold the town to ransom because whatever position the members of the executive occupy were entrusted to them by the town.

 

“The same people today have converged to take from them the position having served out their tenure, and as you saw here today the Ozos(title men) in the community have decreed that so shall it be, and according to our culture, no one has the power to challenge that.”

 

The caretaker committee is to be headed by Chief Chike Obuekwe and six other members from all the communities in the town, including Nduchris Nwanna, a journalist with Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria(FRCN).

 

Comrade Ochije Obi, an indigene of the town expressed happiness with the strides of Chief Willie Obiano in Awka as governor, calling on him to dissociate himself from people like the disbanded leader, who would want to plunge the town into crisis to rubbish the achievement of his government.