It was another chaotic session at Ngwuru community, Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State on Saturday as every effort to verify delegates for Town Union election from the four remaining villages in the community hit a brick wall.
The Enugu State Commissioner for Rural Development, Prince Emeka Mamah, who came for the verification exercise left the community when the situation became riotous owing to the disagreement between some village heads and their secretaries on whether the delegates should be selected or elected.
The Commissioner told Vanguard that the conditions he met in some villages in the community was not conducive for him to conduct the Town Union election, adding that he would report his observations to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of the state.
“The situation in the community was very rowdy. My intention was that the eldest man from each of the remaining four villages would give me the names of their delegates, but there were confrontations and disagreement which would not allow the election of the Town Union executives to hold as planned.
“It was a rowdy session, therefore, not conducive for an election to be conducted. This is the fourth time I am coming for this exercise without achieving the desired result.
“Some people we met at some villages were asking for election of the delegates , while others requested that they should be selected by the eldest person in the villages. I have to make a report to the Governor of Enugu State to let him know what I saw in the community. I cannot conduct election in a crisis-prone situation. Members of the community fought in some of the villages,” the Commissioner explained.
While reacting to the situation, the traditional ruler of the community, HRH, Igwe Linus Obayi, said the community has already started a peace move to resolve every crisis.
The monarch also said that electing Town Union executives without laying proper foundation for peaceful co-existence would leave the community on the path of retrogression, adding that everything has been put under control to ensure that peace and development return to the community.
He said that some of his subjects who hitherto answered Ngwuru Concerned Citizens, have changed their name to Ngwuru Development Union and are in advanced peace talk with him and other members of the community as directed by the governor of the state.
He equally expressed surprise at the Commissioner’s plan to conduct the election when the peace talk was in progress.
However, a member of the community, Prof. Ike Onyishi, bemoaned the continued delay in conducting the election in the community.
“We have been waiting since morning for the election of the executives of our Town Union but the information reaching us is that the Commissioner who came for this election has left our community. What it means is that this election would not hold today. I believe his leaving has to do with some tension in some villages where he went for the verification of delegates for the election,” the don explained.
Prof. Onyishi, also alleged that those who do not want the election to hold are benefiting from the chaos in the community, adding that he wants all the traditional structures which are obtained in other communities to be in Ngwuru to engender peace and progress.
