From Chuks Onuoha, Umuahia
Lokpaukwu Umuchieze Autonomous Community, in Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State, was, yesterday, embroiled in turmoil, as indigenes and residents marched on the street in protest.
The protesters, who stormed the council headquarters, said they were demonstrating over an unfounded petition written by a member of the community against a company, Asphalt Unity Company, located in the area.
They expressed reservations about the petition by Dr. Borke Okwale, younger brother to their traditional ruler, Eze (Barr.) Moses M. Okwale and self-styled traditional prime minister, which they saw as sour grapes. The community said it had stopped Okwale from collecting on its behalf, money the company allocated to support development of the area, an action which angered him.
According to the protesters, trouble started last year when the community conducted an election which produced another leader who would deal with the company and others, on behalf of the community. This did not go down well with Okwale, who allegely deployed different tactics to intimidate the community.
Presenting their grievance to the council chairman, Financial Secretary of Eluama Development Union, Pastor Emeka Okafor said they took the bull by the horns to stop Dr. Okwale’s excesses by conducting an elections last September, which produced new leaders.
Dissatisfied with the outcome of the election, he said Okwale dragged the community before the state government.
The financial secretary stated that on July 27, 2016, Commissioner for Chieftaincy Affairs, in the company of the chairman of the local government, visited to address the community. After a meeting with members of the community, he said the commissioner discovered the community was right by conducting fresh elections to pick new leaders.
He said the aggrieved brother of the traditional ruler, not satisfied with the position of the commissioner, wrote a petition to the House of Assembly, wherein he accused the company of marginalising members of the community, which caused uproar.
“We are here to say that Dr. Borke Okwale is not saying the truth. No leader in our community knew about his petition. He took that step probably because the company decided to deal with the community’s new leaders, not with him. Borke is misinforming the government and the people,” he said.
In her response, the council chairman, Mrs. Ijeoma Okorie, told the protesters that they had taken the right step having not engaged in violence.
“I know that the company answers your distress calls. There is no other company that has paid the local government apart from it. We shall stand by you to make sure that your protests get to the right quarters. The day we were at Eluama to look into this matter, Okwale refused to meet us. I am urging you to maintain peace. You will soon hear from us. The Eluama community led by Pastor Chukwudi Okoli explained to us when we visited and we found out the truth. We had advised Borke to steer clear of the community’s affairs and allow them to move forward.”
Pastor Okoli, who spoke to newsmen, expressed satisfaction over the response of the council chairman’s promise. He alleged that Okwale made himself the traditional prime minister, when his elder brother is the traditional ruler.
Efforts made to reach Okwale were unsucessful as he did not pick several calls put across to him.
However, the traditional ruler of Eluama, in Lokpaukwu Umuchieze Autonomous Community, Eze (Barr.) Moses M. Okwale, said he never supported his brother against the people.
On the issue of his younger brother being the Traditional Prime Minister, he said: “Nobody gave him that title. I never did. It started when a group of people was having problems with the police and they invited him to lead them and resolve the matter. They started calling him ‘Traditional Prime Minister.
“At a point, he started assuming that position and acting on it. Nobody conferred it to him officially because since I am the Eze in the community, I should choose my TPM from another part of the community, not my blood brother. Nobody gave him that. He was just acting as one.”