It was gathered that the Lawmaker representing Abakaliki South in Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Joseph Ununu has allegedly engaged in a fight with the management of the rice mill over his alleged involvement in fraudulent activities in the company
Ununu is a one-term lawmaker, but still waiting for his swearing-in for the second tenure in the Ebonyi State House of Assembly.
He was also the former Chairman of the rice mill company, however, in the early hours of the day resisted a team of the task force during a routine check on the activities of individuals who were allegedly selling rice with a bad scale.
It was also gathered that the lawmaker allegedly threatened to remove the incumbent chairman of the rice mill company, Linus Obeji, who was duly elected to head the mill.
According to our sources, who were at the scene of the incident, "the lawmaker maintained that he is still in charge of the rice mill and that the chairman is too small to contend with him.
"He bragged that he will soon become the deputy speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly as a ranking officer and will single-handedly remove the elected chairman from his baby company."
Another eyewitness in anonymity, said, "The trouble started when Mrs Nnena Ununu, one of the wives of the lawmaker was discovered to have imposed illegal levies on women's wing as their leader and encouraged them to use the bad scale for customers.
"She boasted that the rice mill chairman would do nothing to stop her because of the protection of her husband, and when the team of taskforce arrived at her shop, she called the lawmaker who came with a team of thugs and dispersed them."
The eyewitness further recalled that "on the 13th of March this year, it was discovered that Mrs Nnena Ununu, the wife of the Honorable member representing Abakaliki South State Constituency, who happens to be the head of the market women imposed an unauthorized levy on them.
"She asked them to pay the money forcefully to amend their scale, by making sure that anybody who is coming to buy rice in Line C buys 17kg instead of the 25kg standard measurement.
"When it got to the attention of the rice mill chairman, Linus Obeji, he swung into action and dissolved the executives of the union and told her not to pilot the affairs, he then appointed a 7-man committee to confiscate those adjusted scales."
Mr Linus Obeji, the Chairman of the rice mill company who confirmed the incident described it as unfortunate, that a former chairman of the company, and a lawmaker would abandon his legislative function to encourage his wife who allegedly sponsored the bad practice and created a bad image for the State.
"We summoned all the market women and told them that such evil cannot prevail in Abakaliki rice mill, that we are determined to make things right.
"Nobody whatsoever, no matter how highly placed you are can do such evil against the people of the rice mill, against our customers, and the government of Ebonyi State who stands against corruption.
"Today, the committee went to confiscate those adjusted scales and were attacked by Chidinma Ununu, (daughter of the lawmaker) who took the phone of the pressmen that came to cover the event.
"The wife immediately called her husband who came with his boys and chased them out, bragging that he would use his gun and kill anyone that comes to his shop.
"He said he has institutionalized the practice and no one can stop him, he fought them, the question is, is he now the owner of the rice mill or has he left legislative function to impose himself on us, he should leave us alone," Obeji said.
Speaking with our reporter, the chairman of the task force committee, Mr Chikodili Ibe, other members, Mrs Ann Nwofenyi and Fidelia Nwambam, condemned the lawmaker's action and appealed to the State government to caution him to leave the rice mill company and focus on his legislative functions.
When contacted on the phone, Hon Joseph Ununu described his accusers as those working against his progressive agenda and assured of using every legitimate means to seek redress.
