By Uzo Ebele
Okuzu Igweship
Electoral Committee Chairman, Chinonye Ononye during the Screening Exercise
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 supersedes 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 interest 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 committee 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 supersedes
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 committee, 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 luckily
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.
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