Hundreds of indigenes of Attakwu Akegbe Ugwu, Awkunanaw community in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State, on Monday, staged a peaceful protest against an alleged plot to impose a caretaker committee in place of conducting a town union election as stipulated by their constitution.
The demonstrators stormed the Nkanu West Local Government Secretariat, demanding the state government’s urgent intervention to prevent what they described as a looming crisis in their otherwise peaceful community.
“We are here to request for intervention in the overt and concerted attempt to impose a caretaker committee over Attakwu, in utter contradiction and contravention of the constitution of the Attakwu Town Development Union,” the President-General of the Attakwu Town Development Union, who led the protest, told the council chairman, Hon. John Ogbodo.
The protesters, including 98-year-old elder Mark Ngene (JP), expressed shock that the traditional ruler, HRH Greg Ugwuekwochi, is allegedly pushing for a caretaker committee when the community remains peaceful and united.
The Chairman of Nkanu West Local Government, Hon. Ogbodo, commended the community members for their peaceful conduct and assured them that their concerns would be conveyed to Governor Peter Mbah and relevant authorities.
“I urge you all to maintain peace. Your petition and grievances will be taken seriously, and I will present them to the Governor for further action,” Ogbodo said.
The protesters also took their grievances to the Ministries of Rural Development and Justice before returning to their community.
In a detailed petition addressed to the State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, dated July 3, 2025, the community stated:
“We the undersigned concerned citizens of Attakwu Community… wish to bring to your impartial and fatherly notice for necessary action, overt and concerted attempts to install a caretaker committee in place of Attakwu Town Development Union whose tenure is about to expire.”
The petition recalled the evolution of the Attakwu Town Development Union from its earlier form as the Attakwu Welfare Association in 1963. It emphasized that the current constitution, last reviewed in 2021, does not provide for a caretaker committee and mandates an election at the expiration of any executive’s tenure.
The document further alleged calculated attempts by unnamed elements, possibly with political motives, to disrupt the established order in the community:
“We are horrified and dismayed at the sequences of events with the Town Union and the supervising Ministry of Rural Development, which suggest overt efforts to install a caretaker committee when there is no crisis in the community and in direct contravention of our constitution.”
They also provided evidence of communication with the Ministry requesting election supervision, including letters notifying of the expiration of tenure, formation of an electoral body, and proposed dates for the election.
The petition warned:
“Anything short of obeying the standing constitution of our community—which is organizing elections—is a deliberate effort to create chaos, anarchy, and breakdown of law and order.”
They concluded by affirming their continued support for Governor Mbah’s administration and called on the Attorney-General to uphold justice and constitutional integrity:
“Permit our assertion that the proponents of a caretaker committee in Attakwu are political foes. Their antics in the past are well known. We are peace-loving and committed to supporting the ‘Tomorrow is Here’ agenda. We are counting on you for justice, Sir!”
