Oko Community Crisis: Prof Ekwueme, Community Writes President Jonathan, Accuses Sir Emeka Offor Of Causing The Confusion; Says Prof Onu Must Go

                            

Oko Community in unison believes Prof Godwin Onu is the cause of the confusion in Oko Community and he is being aided and abetted by Billionaire Business Mogul, Sir Emeka Offor whose brother is the Chairman of Governing Council. Offor made it possible for Onu to return for a second term. And Senator Anyim Pius Anyim's ascendency as Secretary to the Government of the Federation is for his sake against former Vice President Dr Alex Ekwueme's candidate Dr Sam Egwu. Since then the battle line was drawn and Offor has been winning. The Presidency has waded into the matter but with Senator Ayim as SGF what do you think will come out of it? Read the community's press conference below:

So, at the weekend, a further twist has now been added to the crises that have enveloped the sleepy erosion-ravaged Anambra community of Oko in Orumba North LGA with a call yesterday to President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in their worsening strained relationship with the management of the Federal Polytechnic(FEDPOLY), Oko.

The community had yesterday in a press briefing in Awka listed out 6-point prayers to President Jonathan which includes a demand for public apology from the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar and his Anambra command boss, Usman Gwary, “for publicly denigrading their monarch, HRH Igwe Prof Laz Ekwueme. Also for President Jonathan, “to caution the Police to stop taking sides in the crises and to focus on their constitutionally assigned mediating and peacekeeping responsibility”.

They also want the Police high command to “face their constitutionally assigned duty and responsibility and effect immediate arrest and prosecution of those involved in the arson and destruction of properties in Oko, and attempted murder of HRH Prof Laz Ekwueme and his wife, Prof Lucy Ekwueme.

The community in the press conference addressed by the President General of Oko Peoples Union, Mr Cyprian Nwanmuo accused the Anambra-born billionaire businessman, Mr Emeka Offor of tacitly fuelling the crises through subtle means, since he personally called the monarch on the phone on April 13, 2014, “abused him for the effrontery to criticize the council he(Offor)constituted for the Polytechnic”.

They urged him to consider using his touted vast wealth and contacts to set up a new tertiary institution in his hometown of Oraifite in Ekwusigo LGA of the state, “and be the Emperor there!”.

While urging the FG to set up a high powered Judicial Commission headed by a distinguished High Court Judge and people of established integrity to look into the lingering Oko/Fedpoly, Oko crises with a view to unravel the causes. They want the position of rector to be advertised and a transparent method used to hire a replacement for Onu since his tenure expired on March 14, 2014.

The community appealed to President Jonathan to remove the rector of the FEDPOLY, Oko, Prof Godwin Onu, for incompetence and non-qualification to be so appointed in the first instance. That he is a professor of Political Science, a course that was not part of the curriculum of a polytechnic. More so, they accused the rector of woeful performance in his first tenure hence deserves no second term.

That Onu’s human relationship was so poor that he was at war with all the staff unions in the institution and has unrivalled penchant for crises and trouble shooting.

Taking the audience made up mainly of journalists down memory lane of events leading to the crises, the Oko leadership accused Prof Onu of arming those they referred to as renegades and murderous mercenaries made up mainly of some named 17 youths of Oko with new vehicles, huge funds that made them see themselves as untouchables. These boys have then been menace unto the society especially Oko. It came to a head on April 19,2014 when they ignored a general announcement by the community banning any masquerade from the 2014 Ifu Olu festival.

The ban according to Nwanmuo was to forestall the 2012 experience where students of the polytechnic and masquerades had a bitter physical clash. But the young men, whose wing in the scheme of things has been outlawed by the community, buoyed by large funds at their disposal invaded the palace of Ekwueme and the historical archives of the community at the palace, vandalizing, looting and destroying everything in sight. It did not stop there as they unleashed terror on all road users driving along the Ekwulobia-Oko-Umunze-Ibinta federal highway and any other thing in their wake.

However, the rector through his Public relations unit said he was not involved in any of the allegations at all.

So far the Oko monarch along with some journalists have raised alarm that their lives have been under intense threat by these strange boys who now mill around nooks and crannies of the state with arms. They are more worried when the police have chosen not to do anything but sit by and watch the armed gangs unleash mayhem on whoever and whatever they want undisturbed.

From Chuks Collins, Awka courtesy elombah.com