Youths and women groups in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State are seeking the removal of their Chairman, Ibe Nwoke, for what they described as ‘abysmal performance’.
They staged a peaceful protest yesterday at the council’s headquarters in Mgboko. They alleged that peace has eluded the area under Nwoke’s administration.
The protesters also claimed that many of Nwoke’s actions could reinvent youth restiveness that the people of Obingwa had long nipped in the bud. They, therefore, pleaded with the leaders and political stakeholders to use every necessary legal processes to remove Nwoke from office ‘before he destroys the peace the local government was enjoying’.
The protesters carried placards with inscriptions like ‘Michael Ibe Nwoke as ALGON chairman sacked council workers’; ‘Local government chairmanship is not a Yahoo business, resign and go back to Yahoo Business’, and more.
Leader of the women group Mrs. Ijeoma Ngozi said the privilege given to Nwoke to direct affairs of the council and coordinate the youths has been bastardised with signs of violence to emanate again.
“It’s barely five months for his tenure to be over and he has not done any meaningful thing for our people. We don’t have an office here as women as everywhere have been converted to tricycle confiscation centres.
“Thugs are everywhere seizing tricycles, collecting N40,000 from all of them. All we see every day are thugs and all sorts of bad people with no meaningful development. We’re tired of watching our children be used for violence. Since Governor Okezie Ikpeazu took over, Obingwa has been very peaceful.
“It’s unfortunate that the chairman is now regrouping such youths that could cause problems for us. We don’t want it again. We don’t want anything that will arm our children and lead them to their untimely deaths. This is why we’re calling for him to be removed before it gets out of hand.”
A youth leader, Chinkata Nwachukwu, said the youths were once hopeful that Nwoke would organise the council, ‘but rather than work for the interest of staffers, indigenes and residents, he chose to satisfy himself’.
“He has been insulting everybody and we’re tired of him. When he was ALGON Chairman, he was quarrelling with his colleagues. He’s our brother but we cannot because of him and sacrifice our peace here in Obingwa.
“We’ve gone round and we’ve discovered that almost all the buildings in the council secretariat are dilapidated and nothing is working. Look at how grasses have taken over everywhere. He is busy harassing all our brothers who are tricycle riders.
“We call on all our leaders from Governors to the House of Assembly to help us. We call on councilors to quickly impeachment him. Enough is enough,” Nwachukwu said.
Nwoke could not be reached as at press time last night, but a source close to him described the protest as sponsored.
According to the source, a powerful politician in the council was sponsoring some councilors to impeach Nwoke, ‘but Nwoke is responsible for all Obingwa indigenes and not a few individuals who think they are gods’.
