Obiano’s N20 million Community Project tears Anambra community apart -PG accused of Complexities

Photo of the shopping mall

 ODOGWU EMEKA ODOGWU reports how Ifitedunu community in Dunukofia LGA of Anambra State was torn apart as a result of its Town Union leadership’s handling of N20 million naira expected grant from Governor Willie Obiano’s government.

Governor Willie Obiano is not happy that some communities in the state are not following the guide lines specified for assessing the Twenty Million naira Community Development Project initiated by his administration to improve o infrastructure of the 179 communities in the state.

Obiano had directed that each community’s proposal for consideration must be accompanied with signatories of the traditional ruler and that of the President-General of the community. But there was a caveat, if the community has no traditional ruler, the President-General and stakeholders should sign.

 Gate done without walls and without agreement with Exco

Gate done by Ikenga rejected by PG

That was not the situation in some communities as some Presidents General schemed their traditional rulers out. Ifitedunu, Dunukofia Local Government was one of such communities where the traditional ruler, HRH Igwe Emeka Ilouno, is alive but was not carried along. He was schemed out. That is the subject of the crisis tearing Ifitedunu, Dunukofia Local Government Area over manipulation of its letter of intent for assessing the money.

The President General of Ifitedunu Town Union, Chief Samuel Nweke was accused by the Stakeholders of the town Union of falsifying the signature of their traditional ruler, HRH Igwe Emeka Ilouno, an action that made Governor Willie Obiano to allegedly rule out Ifitedunu town from benefiting from the N20 Million development project.

A petition against the PG addressed to Governor Obiano through the Special Adviser to the Governor on Chieftaincy and Town Union Matters, Hon. Ikechukwu Onyeabo, and signed by the Vice-President General of the town, Sir Uchenna Nwoye Oragwuncha, the Secretary General, Barr. Uche Nwoye, the Assistant Financial Secretary, Pastor Walter Muodili and the PRO, Mr. Josephat Nwobi, which our correspondent obtained a copy, accused the town’s PG of complexities and constituting a cog to peace in the community through his actions.
The letter was copied to the Anambra State Association of Town Unions (ASATU), the traditional ruler of Ifitedunu, HRH Igwe Emeka Ilouno and Member Representing Dunukofia Constitutency in the State House of Assembly, Hon. Lawrence Ezeudu.
The letter read in part: “We the aggrieved members of the Ifitedunu Town Union on behalf of the entire people of Ifitedunu community , write to inform you of the excesses of Chief Samuel Nweke , the incumbent President-General of the Ifitedunu Town Union (I.T.U) which consists of acts capable of undermining the relative peace and tranquility our beloved town has enjoyed in the previous years and which acts are ultra vires the constitution of Ifitedunu Town Union such acts being inconsistent with the clear and express provisions of Ifitedunu Tow Union (I.T.U ) constitution.
“The President-General has been taking major and crucial decisions affecting our community without deliberating such issues with the members of the executives of Ifitedunu Town Union (ITU). For instance, he singlehandedly appointed one Evangelist Jasper Azodo as the patron of ITU without following the laid-down procedure of such appointment as provided under Article 16E of ITU constitution, 2000.
“The President General, in flagrant violation to the constitution of Ifitedunu Town Union, leased a portion of the Civic Centre land belonging to the ITU to an individual after summoning an emergency meeting of the executive council meeting without referring the matter to the general meeting for ratification as provided for under Article 24of the ITU constitution.
“The President-General has usurped the duties of the other elected officers under the constitution of ITU as provided under article 15C and 15E respectively, which provided for the functions of the Secretary-General and the Financial-Secretary respectively. The President-General has denied the Secretary-General access to the minutes of the executive meeting and has kept same under his custody after same must have been typed and signed.
The President-General has written letters which require both his signature and that of the Secretary and signed same single handedly. For instance, he single-handedly wrote a letter to the various Age Grades in the community mandating them to donate 1000 pieces of block in which letter he claimed that was the decision of the Executive Committee when, in fact, he has not summoned any executive meeting of ITU for more than two months now as provided under Article 25 (g) of the constitution of ITU. A copy of the said letter is hereby annexed herewith”.
They alleged that all his acts are in violation of laid down rules and gross violation of provisions of the Ifitedunu constitution, hence, the community is facing imminent chaos and breakdown of law and order if nothing is done urgently.



Investigations revealed that the people are wondering why the President of Ifitedunu Committee of Friends (ICF), and Ikenga of Ifitedunu, one Prince Uche Oduche’s promise to build a shopping mall in front of the Ifitedunu Civic Center at no cost to the community  and construct a gate for the center at no cost was not taken by the President-General after it was decided at the General Meeting, even when the said Ikenga has fulfilled his promise;  only for the President-General to unilaterally gave a concession to another son of Ifitedunu to construct the Shopping Mall in front of the Ifitedunu Civic Center for a 25-year lease with N5,000 monthly land rent to the community after collecting three million naira (N3m) bribe, allegedly.
He, as well, asked another Ifitedunu man to build and hang a gate without perimeter fencing just to show he is the PG and nobody would question him even his executive members.
This is causing disaffection in the community already as some who don’t know the true picture would not understand the tension and may feel people are disturbing him while he was actually courting trouble. There was lamentation that his acts are inimical to the peace, progress and unity of ITU and the community at large.
The notion on the minds of those who know better was why the PG should be creating disaffection for Ifitedunu Committee of Friends (ICF) that even facilitated his emergence which led to people of the town from all walks of life donating money for the continuation of the building of their civic center that was abandoned for over 40 years now.
But when contacted, the said President of Ifitedunu Committee of Friends (ICF), Chief Sir Prince Uche Oduche, confirmed his pledges to the community which he had fulfilled and expressed shock at what is happening in the community even as he described the President-General as a good man, which according to him, prompted their choice of him for the PG of the town by ICF, but expressed sadness that he is disappointing the people through his obnoxious policies and principles, but refused to speak more on the issues.
The crisis in the community escalated following attempts by some power brokers in the town to dethrone the monarch due to his insistence not to dance to their whims and caprices.
This is coming as over 200 women from the community under the aegis of Umuana Ifitedunu, are protesting the heightening crisis in their community. They said their intention was to broker peace between the titans and over what they termed gross violation of the provisions of the constitution by some of their leaders and their allies.
The leader of Umuana Ifitedunu, Mrs Cecilia Okonkwo told The ATHORITY, South East Crew, that they were sick and tired of the unending internal crisis rocking the peace loving community over power tussle among the elites. She said they are afraid the deity of the community, Kisa Shrine, may kill trouble-makers in the community.
She emphasized that their intervention was not to take sides but to broker peace, adding that the community is now living in fear following the prediction of their powerful deity.
The traditional ruler, Igwe Chukwuemeka Ilouno, when contacted, admitted the allegation but only told The AUTHORITTY that he was barred from celebrating his Ofala festival last year and this year, adding that some persons are also planning to stop his New Yam festival celebration but insisted the New Yam must hold.
But visibly angry, Vice-President of ITU, Sir Uchenna Nwoye-Oragwuncha, also condemned the Sole Administration attitude of Chief Nweke, which led to his abandoning the constitution of the community and doing things unconstitutionally. He queried the essence of executive for the community if one person could run the entire offices in the community unhindered.
When contacted, the President-General of Ifitedunu Town Union, Chief Samuel Nweke, admitted that he used the blocks donated by the community for the  ITU Town Hall for another town hall belonging to the women, even querying if he owed anybody explanations as he is the custodian of the community’s assets and liabilities, which he dispenses at will for the interest of the community and should not be distracted.
Chief Nweke said he was doing all that because some of the executive members constitute clogs in the wheel of progress and he decided to sideline them. He, however, accused them of asking him to bring the money meant for the community to be shared among them, but when he refused, they ganged up against him.
He did not respond to the question on why he did not wait for the gate donated by one Ikenga  Ifitedunu, Chief Sir Uche Oduche, but went ahead to construct another gate. He also declined to comment on the allegation of collecting N3 million bribe to give a concession to another son of Ifitedunu to construct a Shopping Mall in front of the Ifitedunu Civic Center for a 25 years lease, with N5,000 monthly land rent to the community, even when the said Chief Oduche offered to build a Shopping Mall for the community at no cost.
The Ifitedunu PG also had no answer on why he created disaffection for Ifitedunu Committee of Friends (ICF) that facilitated his emergence which was even the reasons why people were donating money for the continuation of the building of the Civic Center abandoned for over 40 years.
He, as well, refused to take questions on why he denied the Financial Secretary and Treasurer access to the community’s financial records and bypasses them to access the community funds against the constitution that elected him.
On why he stopped the traditional ruler from celebrating his Ofala Festival and New Yam Festival, Chief Nweke said it was not during his tenure that the decision was taken.
When asked why he gathered people unknown to government directive to sign Intent Letter and intent for project execution for the N20 million Community Project initiated by the Governor Willie Obiano’s administration, the Ifitedunu President-General accused the Igwe and some of his executives of playing aloof and therefore, he would not be allowed to hold the town to ransom, hence, he sought for stakeholders to sign it.
These the signatories to the petition to Anambra State government dismissed as diversionary, insisting that he has dragged the community’s peace and unity of purpose backward with his divide and rule  syndrome.