Oba Igweship Race: Drama as 2, Out of 4 Traditional Ruler Aspirants Appeared Before Screening Panel
By Uzo Ebele
The Okuzu Oba community Igweship Electoral committee, Idemili South local Government Area, Anambra State, led by Mr. Chinonye Ononye, has ended its screening exercise for the four candidates contesting for the Igweship throne.
However, only two out of the four were screened, the duo included Chief Joseph Maduakonam Ejiofor and High Chief Samuel Odinamadu(Ikeora Idemili) while Nze Ikechukwu Abafo, was absent, Engr. Chinedu Emelobe(Onwa Oba) who was physically present opted out on the ground that he received a letter from the mother union for discussion on same Igweship saga and as such would not submit himself for screening claiming that the Oba Patriotic Union (OPU)meeting supercedes every other meeting or gathering.
Speaking on the screening exercise,an aspirant, Chief Ejiofor stated that the screening was successful and urged the committee not to relent in ensuring free, fair and credible primary election that will finally produce the Igweship candidate from Okuzu akanato quarters that will have the intrest of the people at heart.
” Let the best candidate who will lead us well emerge, it must not be me, the screening committee is doing so well,” he said.
Also High Chief Samuel Odinamadu(Ikeora Idemili) commended the electoral committee for their efforts towards moving the community forward adding that the screening exercise was successful.
Odinammadu lamented that the lack of a monarch in Oba town has deprived the community a lot of things stating that with God on the side of the people a new monarch that will be for the interest of the people will emerge.
On the part of Engr. Emelobe who opted out, he said, “I received a notice (letter) from the Civic centre with respect to the Igweship issue, so we should go first to President General, PG. Secondly, the screening committee should be 13 persons in number but what I see here is about five. Thirdly, representatives of Oba Progressives Union, OPU electoral commitee are not here and they need to show me where Oba constitution says there would be a screening exercise”.
“So under which constitution are they screening the candidates. OPU meeting supercedes every other meeting and group. It is after hearing from OPU since it is on same Igweship issue, that we can now know of a date to come for screening of candidates,” he insisted.
Responding ,the chairman of the Okuzu electoral /screening commitee, Ononye told Engr. Emelobe who came very late that the committee was doing the work as directed by the people of Okuzu Improvement Union adding that the mother union which was aware of the screening exercise did not write or notify the Okuzu electoral committee instructing that the screening exercise be stopped or suspended for any other OPU meeting”.
“We have been having smooth screening exercise until Engr Emelobe sent two proxies and we told them that the screening is not on proxy but physical appearance of Igweship aspirant. Later Emelobe appeared and instead of gently submitting himself for screening like others, he started asking us questions aimed at frustrating the exercise as if we do not know what we are doing but luckly he was the last person who came on our invitation for screening but refused to be screened. Moreover, out of the 13 members 7 are here now one person came here and left due to illness while another person called on phone seeking permission to be absent making it 9 of us available because the 13 were all part of the planning for today’s screening exercise,” Ononye disclosed.
However, Ononye described the exercise as very successful and disclosed that date for the primary election will be made public in due course.