Okpeze Town located at Orumba north local government area of Anambra State is an agricultural community blessed with hardworking and very resourceful people..
Sadly, what has the capacity to deteriorate the resourcefulness of every community among other hiccups, are disturbances arising from land ownership and control power tussles.
What sparked off the hiccups in the Okpeze community emanated from the 20% of the compensatory plots of land ( part of the Mamu forest Reserve) that the state government released to the Okpeze community which ranked among the aboriginal communities.
The crux of the matter was the 35% due to the consultants who engaged the state government in the process of releasing 20% compensatory plots of the acquired land to the community.
At the centre of the controversy are some influential community leaders namely Pharmacist Alphonsus Mmuogbo and the suspended President General of the Okpeze community Chief Kenechukwu Ebekam.
Also mentioned on the matter is the Commissioner For Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs Hon. Tony Collins Nwabunwanne.
The traditional Prime Minister of the Okpeze Community Chief Donatus Nwafor bared his mind in a press release on the disturbing situation which has torn the community apart.
Chief Nwafor went down memory lane on part of the genesis of the crises arising from the inglorious suspension of the president general Chief Ebekam who was constitutionally bound to serve out his second term of four years in office on the second day of January 2027.
According to the traditional prime minister who served as the president general of the community from 2013 to 2019, Pharmacist Mmuogbo has vowed that the Okpeze community will not have peace as he was against his administration when he was the PG of the town, against the 90 year old traditional ruler of the community HRH Igwe Innocent Nwaozoemena Onwumelu(Eze di ora nma 1 of Okpeze) whom he once insulted and later tendered an apology to, the suspended President General Chief Ebekam and his executive members whom he fought to a stand still.
The community leader frowned at the position of the Commissioner For Local government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs Chief Nwabunwanne who he indicted was siding Pharmacist Mmuogbo and his cohorts on the matter.
He disclosed that the Commissioner claimed to have suspended the PG of the community because of his disobedience violating his order prohibiting all interested parties on the matter to bury their hatchets pending the determination of the matter by a higher authority.
The traditional prime minister blamed the commissioner for acting on an uninvestigated allegation that the suspended President General sold part of the community land when in the actual sense he was out of the country at the time of the allegation, and for setting up a kangaroo caretaker committee of the Okpeze community made up of the party in dispute with the suspended PG and his team to preside over the boiling issue.
According to him, Pharmacist Mmuogbo kicked against the decision of the community’s accredited representatives who engaged an estate valuer that facilitated the release of the 20% plots of land allocated to him as a consultant developer to develop some facilities in the community’s Mamu Forest Reserve.
The traditional prime minister accused him of illegally issuing a power of Attorney to a consultant in the name of Okpeze without the consent of the traditional ruler of the community or its president general.
He further disclosed that Pharmacist Mmuogbo and his daughter Dr. Nneoma Mmuogbo an appointee of Governor Chukwuma Soludo functioning as the Chief Accounting Officer of all the local government area in the state have overbearing influence on the Commissioner For Local government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs Hon.Nwabunwanne who despite some clear facts before him, have failed to act accordingly in defence of the truth.
The synergy of the trio Mr.for Local Government, Pharmacist Mmuogbo and Dr.Nneoma has not helped matters for the progressives group in the Okpeze Community.
He further disclosed that the matter has been tabled before the Chief of Staff to the governor Mr.Ernest Ezeajugh but has remained unresolved.
To this end ,he made a passionate appeal to the governor of Anambra State Professor Chukwuma Soludo to intervene in the lingering land dispute, and to call to order, Pharmacist Mmuogbo ,his daughter Dr.Nneoma and their cohorts whose activities have undermined peace and progress in the Okpeze community.
The traditional prime minister said he is in possession of some vital documents to buttress his claims.
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