From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
Many communities in Ishiagu, Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, are blessed with mineral endowments. But rather than these gifts of nature being deployed to the benefit of the communities, they have seemingly become a curse for the land and people of Ngwongwo Community, Ishiagu.
Control of the leadership of the community and, by extension, the royalties accruing from the minerals in their soil has ostensibly stoked crises in the area.
In fact, it is common to have village and communal tussles over their leaderships. The men, women and youths are all the time involved in these rivalries.
As earlier queried whether the endowments were a curse to the community, findings showed that Ngwongwo has the worst road network in Ishiagu. Also, they can neither boast of a town hall nor civic centre where the people could discuss their affairs. The one they have is grossly dilapidated with the roof falling apart.
Different administrations in the state had made efforts to resolve the issues but such efforts have continued to hit the rocks.
On February 17 this year, another opportunity for the people to elect a new set of leaders to pilot the affairs of the community came, with many government officials and security agencies in attendance.
Mr. Sunday Ogbonnaya Okeke was elected the new chairman of Ngwongwo community. Other executive members of the community’s leadership were also elected.
It was gathered that a faction in the community, led by Paul Ngara, refused to participate in the election. Ngara himself claimed that his tenure as the chairman of the community had not elapsed and that it would end on July 21, 2024. He claimed he had a judgment that was delivered on February 16, a day before the exercise, restraining any election pending when his tenure elapsed.
But the chairman of Ivo local government, Chief Emmanuel Ajah, dismissed any court order or judgment against the election, saying that there was nothing like that.
He said: “This is the first election in the history of Ngwongwo community that has been done without violence. We have successfully conducted today’s election without any fight between one person or the other.
“Some people went about saying that there would be no election in Ngwongwo, that government did not support today’s election. They claimed that court stopped the election but you can see the government here conducting the elections themselves.
“The commissioner for border peace and conflict resolution is here with people from his ministry, we have the DSS, police, Civil Defence and journalists from different media organizations here. And all that is required to conduct this election is here, so who else do they want to conduct the election?
“Please, this your government that was elected today, being 17th February, will elapse on 5th of January, 2027. This election lingered till today because the governor constituted a committee through the commissioner for conflict resolution to look into the issue with the leadership of Ngwongwo community, which lasted till December last year, and it was discovered that the tenure of the past leadership had elapsed and one month’s notice was given for you people to prepare for this election.
“There must be peace in Ivo LGA; there must be peace in Ngwongwo community. Nobody singlehandedly installed any of these leaders today but Ngwongwo community elected the people they want to work for the community.”
Commissioner for border peace and conflict resolution, Donatus Illang, in his speech, thanked the governor for providing the enabling environment for the election.
Illang said: “I want to thank the local government chairman. I want to thank in a very special way Governor Francis Nwifuru who sees Ngwongwo as his own village.
“But I want to let you people, the elected persons, to know one very important thing, that you are the face of Ngwongwo, that you are representing Ngwongwo anywhere in Ivo LGA even in Ebonyi State and the entire country.
“You have to carry everybody along, irrespective of the faction, which I know does not exist in the community. Seeing what happened here, it has shown that there is no group, no faction anywhere in Ngwongwo and indeed I want you to demonstrate that. Apply every effort you know for the development of Ngwongwo, never you betray this crowd you are seeing here.
“The chairman has said it all, your tenure ends on 5th of January, 2027. For anybody who will come to take over from you would have to come on the normal time for the election. I want to also inform you that this peace you have established here today will be permanent.”
A few weeks after the election, some members of the community staged a peaceful protest against three of their illustrious sons: Paul Ngara, Chief Uchenna Orji, a former commissioner for information and state orientation, who is now special assistant on media to the minister of works, Sen. David Umahi, as well as a youth leader, Damian Okafor.
They accused the trio of stoking crisis in the area by using security agents to arrest some leaders and members of the community. They also accused them of distracting the new leadership of the community through incessant arrest and detention. They threatened to banish Ngara, Orji and Okafor from the community and burn their houses.
Okeke clearly evaded attempts made by our correspondent for him to react to the allegations raised by his opponents.
Nonetheless, Ngara said he remains the chairman of the community, declaring that the election of February 17 was null and void, citing a court judgment, which he said disapproved election in the community until the expiration of his tenure.
He announced a committee that would conduct election after the expiration of his tenure. The committee, he said, has Damian Okafor as its chairman.
However, after the inauguration of the Ngara group’s Okafor-led election committee, some of the persons that attended the event were arrested by the police. Ngara told Daily Sun that nothing would deter him from conducting the election.
“The chairman of Ivo LGA, Emmanuel Ajah, was directed by the state government to allow my tenure to elapse and it was written and announced even on air when this crisis started.
“Because of his interest and some politicians threatening him that he will not go for second tenure, he refused to do what the government told him and announced my removal.
“This matter started in November 2023 when the council chairman, in abuse of his powers, announced the dissolution of the town union leadership of Ngwongwo community whose tenure is meant to last till 21st July, 2024, under our constitution.
“I filed originating summons to challenge the planned dissolution of my leadership. A high court gave a judgment that declared the planned election unlawful and illegal.
“The council chairman in his usual manner of disobedience to court orders and unlawful behaviours went ahead to conduct an unlawful election.
“I proceeded to court vide contempt proceedings to commit him, other contemners to prison for disobeying the judgment of court. In the usual brazen manner of the council chairman, he mobilized his gang and other armed thugs to attack, abduct and rob the bailiff and other court workers who went to serve them with the contempt proceedings.
“When this case of abduction, armed robbery and assault on court officials was reported to the court, the judge ordered for arrest and prosecution of the suspects. This was carried out by the police, but at the call of one highly-placed man from Ishiagu community, they were released by the police unconditionally.
“The police have since then been carrying out unlawful mass arrest in the community, all at the instruction of the council chairman. Currently, some chiefs and elders of the community are being detained in this hard time, and they are being exploited and intimidated by the police.
“The same council chairman has connived with the police to shield the violent thugs of the council chairman from Ngwogwo community who have been involved in the maiming of perceived enemies and destruction of properties, all of which were reported to the police but they would release the culprits unconditionally,” Ngara alleged.
The embattled community leader opined that the state government was in his support, explaining that that was why he is strongly fighting what is going on in the community and that even if the council boss refused to allow him to conduct election in the community, the government will conduct the election immediately his tenure elapses.
Ngara averred that he was on ground in the community and that he still has the support of majority of members of the executive of the community leadership elected alongside with him.
He stated: “Some persons rented some of our villagers to protest against me, Uchenna Orji, the highest stakeholder in the community, and Damian Ogonna Okafor. If they are on ground, why are they protesting, why are they complaining.”
Ajah, the council chairman, spoke to Daily Sun on the issue. He said Okeke, the new chairman of the community is doing very well and has started some construction works in the community, which according to him, was annoying Ngara and his group.
“The new chairman of the community is doing wonderfully well and the companies are paying him royalties with which he is using to develop the community.
“Ngwogwo is the place we have the worst road network in Ishiagu community and it is a place hundreds of millions of naira is made in a year and nobody is utilizing it properly and this new chairman has started utilizing the resources properly. He is doing concrete drainage and some roads in the community and it has never happened before.
“Unfortunately, Paul Ngara and his cohorts arrested the boy and detained him. I intervened, I called the commissioner of police and the young man was released.
“This is the third time they have arrested the boy. The first was when the community came and protested in the capital city. They are frustrating the boy through constant arrests and law suits. I have called Paul Ngara to desist from this but he has refused to do so because he has a master that is pushing him to be doing all these things he is doing,” he said.
Ajah vowed that no election will be conducted in Ngwongwo community by the Ngara group under his administration as the council boss.
“I will not allow them to cause crisis in my local government area. At least for now, I am the chief security officer of the council, I will not allow that injustice to happen.
“I have written to security agencies after getting videos of inauguration of a committee by Paul Ngara to conduct election in the community, to call them to order because there will be nothing like election in Ngwogwo community. I will protect the community against injustice,” he insisted.
Meanwhile, the council chairman has personally written to Ngara warning him not to contemplate conducting any other election in the community to avoid breakdown of law and order.
In the letter dated June 10, 2024 and obtained by our correspondent, the chairman said he received a complaint from the community that Ngara was planning election in the community, pointing out that he would be held responsible for any breakdown of law and order in the area if he tried it.
Part of the letter reads: “I received with total disappointment a letter from Ngwogwo community chairman informing me of your purported effort to cause communal crisis in Ngwogwo community by constituting jamboree and illegitimate electoral committee intending to conduct another community election in Ngwogwo community on the 21st day of July, 2024.
“May I inform you that Ngwogwo community conducted her election on the 17th day of February, 2024 at Ngwogwo Primary School Ishiagu and it was one of the most peaceful elections in Ivo LGA. The process witnessed fairness and was free, credible and violent free.
“You may also wish to know that before the election, the appropriate ministries of Ebonyi State were duly informed and they were also in attendance to witness the election. Carry your investigation to the ministries of internal security, local government and chieftaincy matters, border peace and conflict resolution, Ebonyi State police command, Department of State Security, Nkwegu military cantonment, and other relevant security agencies in Ebonyi State.
“I therefore, advise you and your cohorts and the trouble mongers you brought together as electoral committee to desist from carrying out activities capable of causing crisis in Ngwogwo community. There is no trouble in Ngwogwo and you should not be the one to bring trouble to Ngwogwo community as the hand of the law will hold you tight.
“Desist from fomenting trouble in Ngwogwo community. If you fail, any breakdown of law and order caused by you or any of your cohorts shall have the full weight of the law visited on you.
The post Unending crisis in Ebonyi’s mineral-rich community appeared first on The Sun Nigeria.