Okonkwo Samuel
In a letter addressed to Governor Chukwuma Soludo, the five chairmen of Ifitedunu Community in Dunukofia LGA of Anambra State highlighted the issue of the removal of Mr. Uchenna Nwoye Oragwuncha as the former President General of Ifitedunu Town Union. The community chairmen stated that Mr. Nwoye’s removal was in accordance with the Ifitedunu Town Union Constitution due to a criminal conviction by the Federal High Court.
To replace Mr. Nwoye, the community has appointed Mr. Chukwudi Raphael Anene as the new President General. They urged Governor Soludo to withdraw the certificate given to Mr. Oragwuncha to prevent any potential illegality and maintain law and order.
Additionally, the community chairmen expressed their gratitude for Governor Soludo’s road construction initiatives while urging ASATU cabals to allow security agencies to handle the matter appropriately.
The letter, dated July 25, was formally signed by the five village chairmen of Ifitedunu:
- Nze Onyebuchi Anene (Obieze)
- Mr. Francis Chira-Udoobi (Ukpomili)
- Arinze Azodo (Akwa)
- Chukwudi Nwafor (Umuanugo)
- Bertrand Nwankwo (Igbuala)
The letter reads bellow:
“MR. GOVERNOR, SIR.
RE: INCESSANT HARASSMENT/MOLESTATION OF PRESIDENTS GENERAL IN ANAMBRA STATE – IFITEDUNU FORMER PG AS A SUBJECT MATTER.
Our attention has been drawn to a letter from ASATU cabals with reg no ASATU/GHA/OGM/087 dated 25th of July 2023, to your good office through the Commissioner for Local Government, Town Union, and Chieftaincy Affairs. We read with understanding that the information contained in that ASATU letter is malicious and misleading, just to save their drowning colleague, Ifitedunu Town Union’s former President General, Mr. Uchenna Nwoye Oragwuncha.
Firstly, we put it to them that due process was followed in removing Mr. Uchenna Nwoye Oragwuncha, according to Ifitedunu Town Union Constitution 2000, Revised Edition 2017, Section 15.00, Sub-section (B), which stated that a principal officer of Ifitedunu Town Union shall not be an ex-convict of any criminal offense in Nigeria. The above-mentioned provisions have removed the former President General of Ifitedunu Town Union (ITU), Mr. Uchenna Nwoye Oragwuncha, after the Federal High Court Awka, on 4th May 2023, convicted him to one year imprisonment on a criminal offense without an option of fine. He was remanded at the Amawbia Correctional Center as an inmate with a registered inmate number displayed on his vest, referred to as Charge no: FHC/AWK/C/01/2021.
Subsequently, ITU constitution Section 19.00 Removal of an officer, Sub-section (A) stated that any officer may be removed from office before the expiration of his tenure on grounds of (Ai) incompetence (Aii) breach of Ifitedunu constitution (Aiii) conduct unbecoming of an officer of ITU provided that the move is supported by 2/3 of the members present in a well-constituted general meeting. (Aiv) a principal officer so removed shall be replaced with another officer from his village to complete his tenure. So on that note of subsection 19.00 (Aiv), the Ukpomili village Ifitedunu people’s assembly, at their general meeting, has withdrawn the representation of Mr. Uchenna Nwoye Oragwuncha and replaced him with Mr. Chidimma Repheal Anene from the same Ukpomili village Ifitedunu as the new President General that will represent the Ukpomili mandate at Ifitedunu Town Union administration until their tenure runs out. And those correspondences have been sent to the office of the governor and the Commissioner for Local Government, Town Union, and Chieftaincy Affairs Awka.
A meeting was also called by the commissioner, Hon. Tony Collins, inviting the five village chairmen that make up Ifitedunu to his office on 21st July 2023 at Awka where he, the Hon. Commissioner, was pleading that his friend Mr. Uchenna Nwoye Oragwuncha should be allowed to finish his tenure. He also boasted that Mr. Uchenna Nwoye Oragwuncha is not convicted of any criminal offense by the Federal High Court Awka. However, the five village chairmen from Ifitedunu responded to him, reminding the Hon. Commissioner of their resolution to sack Mr. Uchenna Nwoye Oragwuncha, the imprisoned former PG of Ifitedunu, because the Ifitedunu Town Union, Anambra State, and Nigerian constitution forbid a criminal convict or ex-convict from holding public office.
Realizing that he was no longer the President General of Ifitedunu Town Union after being convicted of a criminal offense by the Federal High Court Awka, Mr. Uchenna Nwoye Oragwuncha, the former President General of ITU, along with a few of his cohorts, invaded Nkwo market Ifitedunu, which is a community land owned by the entire Ifitedunu male and female, without due process or application of relevant ITU constitutional provisions by seeking the approval of the executive council of ITU Section 25.00, Sub-section (A i) comprises of all elected officers of the town union. (ii) chairmen and secretary of each village in Ifitedunu. (iii) Chairmen and secretary of each branch of ITU (iv) chairmen and secretary of recognized age-grade in Ifitedunu and Ibaca. (V) all the past President General of ITU (Vi) chairmen and secretary of Ojiana Ifitedunu. (Vii) chairperson and secretary of ITU woman wing. (Viii) Chairmen and secretary of ITU youth wing.
Be reminded that subsection 25.00, (E) stated that if, however, owing to the nature and urgency of the matter, the executive council acted before bringing the matter to the general meeting, the general shall convey retrospective ratification of the decision of the executive council if the action is deemed reasonable. But to our greatest surprise, the former PG Uchenna Nwoye Oragwuncha and his minority cohorts didn’t call for an executive council meeting as stipulated in section 25.00 subsection (B), which stated that the executive council shall hold meetings before every general meeting of the town union and at any other time as the president may deem fit.
Mr. Uchenna Nwoye Oragwuncha, the former PG, sensing that his conviction of a criminal offense has automatically removed him as PG Ifitedunu, didn’t call for a compulsory and constitutional mid-year meeting of Ifitedunu Town Union that was supposed to hold on the last Saturday of the month of June 2023. According to section 22.00, subsection (E), which stated that in addition to the general meeting, there shall be a half-yearly general meeting to be held on the last Saturday of June each year. …which our former PG ignored just to invade our community market, Nkwo, and started building lockup shops, claiming that our state government is aware of it as he goes around duping our people of a huge sum of money, two million five hundred thousand Naira (N2,500,000) for each shop without authorization of the executive council or general assembly of Ifitedunu Town Union, including our Igwe, who is not even aware of the illegal construction of lockup shops at Nkwo market Ifitedunu.
It’s the backdrop of his illegality that made the entire community rise up and stop the illegal construction of lockup shops at Nkwo market after finding out that due process was not followed, as Mr. Uchenna Nwoye Oragwuncha has thrown our ITU constitution to the trash bin to enable him and his cohorts to swindle umu Ifitedunu of their hard-earned money by obtaining by trick (OBT), which is a criminal offense punishable by law.
Our position is that members of ASATU Anambra state are just a union of President Generals in various communities, which doesn’t have legitimate powers to dictate who governs Ifitedunu Town Union in Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra state as we have our constitution that is guiding us as a community.
We warned them to stay away from Ifitedunu Town Union affairs and focus on their own individual communities. Many communities face unrest because they mistake the “general” in President General as “army general.”
We implore Governor Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo to instruct the Commissioner for Local Government, Town Union, and Chieftaincy Affairs to withdraw the certificate of our former President General, Mr. Uchenna Nwoye Oragwuncha. He is currently serving a one-year imprisonment conviction on a criminal offense at Amawbia Correctional Center and has repeatedly violated our town union constitution.
Our constitution has already removed Mr. Uchenna Nwoye Oragwuncha from office, and the people have accepted Mr. Chukwudi Raphael Anene as the new President General of Ifitedunu Town Union. Not withdrawing the certificate given to the former PG will enable him to swindle members of Ifitedunu community and the public by tricking them.
The government’s recognition of a criminal like Mr. Uchenna Nwoye Oragwuncha will not sit well with supporters of Agpa government in Anambra state who respect the rule of law. It may lead to a breakdown of law and order and encourage further illegality.
We express gratitude to Governor Soludo for initiating massive road construction linking Nkwo market Ifitedunu to other communities around Dunukofia and Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra. Ride on soludo solution na anyi kwenyelu na iga achi anyi ofuma.
Yours in community services.”
Note: We urge ASATU cabals to allow security agencies to do their work and refrain from acting on speculation and falsehood just to be relevant. Attached to this letter are photocopies of various correspondence from umu Ifitedunu submitted to the Anambra state government and sections of Ifitedunu Town Union constitution 2000, revised edition 2017.
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