By NewsCritic Reporters
The Amafor Isingwu community in Ohuhu Umuahia North Local Government Area, LGA, of Abia State is locked in a debilitating leadership tussle following the reported removal of the President General, PG, Comrade Chucks Nwankwo and the composition of an Interim Management Committee led by Mr Charles Emenike to run the affairs of the federated union pending the conduct of a fresh election.
NewsCritic online gathered that this new development followed widespread allegations of mismanagement of community funds running into several millions of Naira by the embattled President General, Comrade Chucks Emenike and his team.
For instance, it was alleged that the embattled PG could not account for over N20 million realised from the sales of community lands at Ebite Amafor layout near War Museum Umuahia, where the Amafor community owns large expanse of lands. He was also accused of not rendering account of the monies paid by members of two different Age Grade Associations for partitioning and allocation of plots of land to them as members of the community. Each member was said to had paid N50, 000 and over one hundred individuals paid the mandatory fee for the land allocation.
NewsCritic online reports that trouble started for Comrade Chucks Nwankwo during the community’s 2021 Easter conference, which the PG was said to had unilaterally shifted from the original date which was on a Saturday to Monday on the grounds that Super High Chief Charles Onwuneme, Okeosisi, TPM Gburugburu was billed for a chieftaincy award that same day.
Sources disclosed that when the Monday date eventually came and all the people seated for the conference, the PG allegedly employed strategies to delay the commencement of the business of the day until about 3:30pm, when he eventually came up with 17-point agenda to be discussed leaving out the issue of election and others. It was at this point that the atmosphere became rowdy, while some youths charged to the table to scatter it.
Eye witness account disclosed that it was at this moment that the PG sensing security breach called off the conference until December. While comrade Nwankwo reportedly left the venue, with some of his loyalists, others stayed back and got the Vice President to moderate the conference and asked people to return the next day to conclude. On the next day when they returned the exco led by Comrade Nwankwo was dissolved and an interim management committee put in place which is led by Mr Charles Emenike. The interim leadership immediately disbanded the community’s land committee and appointed new members.
In nominating new members of the land committee, two of the four kindreds that made up Amafor, Umuenwere and Umuopete declined to participate in the new government. A member of the Umuenwere family told this reporter that the former PG who served before comrade, Engr Akujobi spent two terms and nobody disturbed him despite all the allegations of corruption against him in the sales of lands and construction of the events centre at Ebite.
He said now that it is the turn of Umuenwere they don’t want the PG to have peace, adding that Mr Charles Emenike the interim PG is just parading himself, describing his emergence as illegal.
Investigations revealed that the members of the disbanded land committee have refused to go as they keep performing their role and sometimes clash with members of the new land committee appointed by the Interim PG. Some concerned Amafor residents are beginning to express fears that the emergence of two land committees might lead to violence if nothing is done to redress the situation. Comrade Chucks Nwankwo is insisting that he remains the PG until the conduct of fresh election come December, adding that Mr Charles Emenike wants to take power through the back door.
