Indigenes of Abacha community in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State have staged a peaceful protest at the Government House in Awka over a leadership crisis rocking the community.
The protesters, who gathered at the Government House on Tuesday, carried placards calling on Governor Chukwuma Soludo to intervene before the situation leads to violence.
Led by the Traditional Prime Minister of the community, Chief Jonas Okafor, the protesters said peace in Abacha was under threat, with angry youths becoming increasingly unhappy over the leadership dispute.
Speaking during the protest, Okafor explained that Abacha community has two major villages, Akanato and Umudisi, which operate a power-sharing arrangement for key leadership positions.
Under the arrangement, the two villages share the positions of traditional ruler, Traditional Prime Minister, Onowu and President General. The position of President General is rotated among families that have occupied the Onowu position to ensure fairness.
However, the protesters, who are from the Akanato section of the community, accused the traditional ruler of going against the arrangement by supporting the election of a President General from his own village.
They argued that the decision was unfair and could further increase tension in the community.
“We are here to beg our governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, to intervene because the crisis in our community may get to a point where it will get out of hand.
“Right now, the youths of the community are very angry, but we have been calming them down. However, we do not know how long we can continue to do so.
“The monarch himself came to power through this power-sharing arrangement. I am surprised that he is now working against the same arrangement that benefited him. We do not want violence in our community, which is why we decided to embark on this peaceful protest,” Okafor said.
The Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr Okechi Egbuna, who received the protesters, thanked them for conducting themselves peacefully.
He assured them that Governor Soludo would look into the matter and work towards finding an amicable solution to the leadership crisis.
