NATIONAL PANEL learnt that the Amaeze community is endowed with natural resources, hosting numerous investors that deal with Shipping and other minerals that generate millions of naira for the community.
It was gathered that the fight between Ajah and Okorie, ensued when he (Ajah) announced that the Amaeze Development Union, ADU's election will hold on August 12th, 2023, but Okorie opposed it and insisted that the election must hold on 26th, August 2023, as allegedly stipulated by the constitution of Amaeze.
Investigation revealed that Ebonyi state High Court of Justice, Ishiaka in Ivo LGA, in a judgement delivered by Iheanacho Chima, on July 2017, in suit No. HAK/20/2016 between Okereke Chinedu Joshua and others versus Uchenna Anyim and others held that the election of the Amaeze Development Union, be held on the 26th of August, according to Okorie, the Union has been conducting its elections on the said court-approved date.
In their separate reactions, Mr Ajah who spoke to newsmen in Abakaliki, blamed the outgoing Chairman of Amaeze Development Union, ADU, in Ishiagu for an attempt to cause another war, killings and destruction of valuable properties belonging to the innocent citizens of the council area.
Ajah also denied the alleged claims by Okorie of an attempt to hijack the forthcoming ADU election: "I don't have anything against the outgoing Amaeze community Chairman, Mr Okorie. This man has caused a lot of damage to people in my place. Let me tell you when he (Okorie) was a Youths President, he caused a crisis that led to the death of some persons.
"The same Okorie came as a chairman of the AAmazecommunity, and no fewer than five (5) persons died in his tenure when he was trying to have an interim government. Now, he is going out of the office and he wants to cause another crisis so that people will die again, that's why I said no, it's not possible.
"The problem is that his (Okorie) tenure as the chairman of the Amaeze community will end on the 21st of this August 2023, but he wants the election to be conducted on the 26th, of this August, 2023. I told him (Okorie) that the election will hold on the 12th of this August, 2023 and by August 21st, he will handover to the new person, but he insisted that the election must hold on the 26th, I told him (Okorie) that it was not possible to conduct the election on 26th when his tenure had expired on 21st.
He berated the outgoing Amaeze community Chairman Mr Okorie for staging the arrest of the committee chairman on Peace and Conflict Resolution, Ivo LGA, Mr Orji Elijah Okechukwu, and dragging him (Ajah) before the commissioner of police, department of state services, DSS, and the State government.
In a swift reaction, the Amaeze community Chairman, Mr John Okorie said that the council chairman Emmanuel Ajah has no such right to interfere with the community's election and can't fix a date of the election for them.
Okorie who reacted through his brother, Gilbert Okorie noted that the Amaeze community has a valid constitution that regulates the conduct of its elections and requires no external influence to conduct elections.
According to Okorie: "the chairman of Ivo LGA, Emmanuel Ajah has no right to conduct an election for Amaeze Development Union, ADU. It is not part of the duties of Ivo LGA chairman. Amaze has a constitution and there is no crisis in it now, except the one the chairman, Ajah is trying to bring now. Article 7 of the Amaeze constitution stipulates, how elections should be conducted and we have been doing that.
"At the moment, there is no crisis or any problem, except that the chairman, Ajah has been going about since May 2023, boasting that he will install his preferred candidate as chairman of the Amaeze community, and he (Ajah) is from another community called Iyi, and not even from Amaeze ward. What is his business coming to conduct an election for Amaeze?" He stressed.
Reacting to the alleged killings of some persons in Amaeze, Okorie said: "What audacity does he (Ajah) have to be attributing crisis that people died in, it was the same imposition that he (Ajah) is trying to bring into Amaeze now, was the same imposition they did in 2021 that caused the crisis that claimed the lives of three (3) people" he stated.
DAILY POST reports that no fewer than four (4) persons including two (2) brothers; Onyekachi Nweni and Ogbonna Nweni, and two (2) others; Christian Okonta and Uchenna Okereke, are currently contesting the ADU's election to take over from John Okorie.
Meanwhile, The governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru, through the commissioner of local government and Chieftaincy matters has waded into the crisis, and however, summoned the council chairman Ajah and Okorie, including their supporters to appear before him, as a way to resolve the differences in the date of the ADU election.
"It has come to the knowledge of Ebonyi State Government of the crisis being generated by the conflicting dates of (either 12th or 26th August 2023) election into the Executive Committee of Amaeze Ishiagu Development Union. With the consensus agreement that the election holds on this August, either of the dates should not cause a problem" he stated.
