The Obodoakpu Agbogugu Community in Agwu Local Government Area of Enugu State has appealed to the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Rural Development, Mr Okey Ogbodo not to impose a President-General on the community.
They also urged the Commissioner not to subervet the constitution of the community on the method of selecting its president-general or use illegal document to impose a candidate on them.
Addressing newsmen on Saturday in Enugu, members of the community under the aegis of Concerned People of Obodoakpu Agbogugu autonomous community, pleaded with Ogbodo to allow them choose their Town Union President.
They unanimously rejected the move by the Commissioner and vowed not to participate in any election held outside its 2004 constitution.
Explaining their grievances, the Youth Leader, Prince Ikechukwu Aputa, said that the community had existing Town Union Constitution written and adopted in 2004 and was still valid and operational till date.
He explained that all the past President Generals and members of Executive that ruled Obodoakpu Community were elected in strict compliance with the 2004 constitution.
The youth leader insisted that the community had not adopted a new Town Union Constitution and did not submit any new constitution in the Ministry of Rural Development Enugu State to replace the 2004 constitution.
He said, “Obodoakpu Community during her General Assembly in 2022, appointed Constitution Review Committee headed by one Barrister Osmond Okoye to review the 2004 Constitution of Obodoakpu.
“The Committee has not completed its assignment so as to submit the draft to the General Assembly in any of their plenaries which holds three times every year at the National headquarters in Obodoakpu Agbogugu.
“That the chairman of the Constitution Review Committee, Barrister Osmond Okoye in February, 2025 via both voice message and on Obodoakpu WhatsApp platforms confirmed that the Committee is still working on the new constitution,” he said.
Collaborating what Aputa said, Dr Callistus Nevo and MCCollins Ude, both members of the Constitution Review Committee, disclosed that the committee was still working on the new constitution to be submitted when completed.
Another member of the community, Mr Hyacinth Udeh, urged the government to constitute a caretaker committee to oversee its affairs pending the completion of the new constitution and conduct election that would be accepted by the community.
When contacted, Ogbodo said the ministry had no right to stop any President-General from seeking reelection.
Ogbodo said all the necessary steps taken by the ministry was to ensure a smooth election in the community adding that the ministry did not conduct election, but came as an observer.
He explained that the amended constitution of the community was read to the General Assembly which they adopted as a working document and it was approved and stamped.
The Commissioner also disclosed that the election for the new president-general for the community had been scheduled to take place on April 12, urging the interested persons to contest.
“The current President-General wants to come back for second tenure and the ministry cannot stop him. In every election, there must be an aggrieved party.
“People should come out and contest. We don’t have the right to ask the president- general not to contest. It is left for the people to vote for him or not.
“We have done what we should do. In that community, the traditional rural and the president-general are from the same component. We discouraged that.
“The ministry advocated rotational system and proper distribution of offices to components . If a traditional rural is from one component of the community, the president -general should be from the other side.
“We cannot stop anyone who wants to contest from contesting . It’s left for the community to vote and choose their leaders,” Ogbodo said.
