LAGOS -The Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos State Chapter, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, has been thrown into fresh controversy as the Electoral Committee set up to conduct the forthcoming Local Government elections has been accused of brazen extortion, corruption and imposition of candidates.
Investigations by our correspondent revealed that the committee members have allegedly turned the electoral process into a money-spinning venture, moving from one Local Government Area to another to collect huge sums of money and impose unrecognized persons as Chairmen against the will of the people.
The height of the illegality, according to stakeholders, was recorded in Oto-Awori LCDA, where the committee allegedly staged a midnight-style, kangaroo election.
Sources disclosed to newsmen that the Electoral Committee invaded Oto-Awori LCDA without the knowledge, consent or involvement of the existing duly recognized executive led by Chief Emmanuel Ubah,a respected leader who contested the recent state presidential election against incumbent,Chief Leo Okafor
“They deliberately bypassed Chief Ubah and his entire executive. They did not inform the elders, the stakeholders or the members. They just gathered a few people in a corner, allegedly collected One Million Naira, and declared their own Chairman. This is not democracy, it is criminality,” a chieftain of Ohanaeze in Oto-Awori who pleaded anonymity stated.
He described the election as “a charade, a total rape of our constitution and an insult to Igbo tradition where elders and due process are respected.”
What has left many bewildered is the revelation that the highest leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Lagos may not have sanctioned the illegality.
When stakeholders and leaders of Ohanaeze in Oto-Awori LCDA reached out to both the President and Deputy President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State Chapter to verify the authenticity of the said election, both leaders reportedly denied any knowledge of it.
According to insiders, the President and his Deputy expressed shock and assured that the matter would be investigated.
“If the President and Deputy President are not aware of an election conducted in the name of Ohanaeze, who then authorized these electoral officers? Who are they working for? This is a clear case of some individuals using the name of Ohanaeze to extort money and cause confusion,” another stakeholder fumed.
The development has sparked outrage across Oto-Awori and other affected LCDAs, with prominent leaders calling for the immediate cancellation and nullification of the kangaroo election.
They appealed directly to the State President, Chief Leo Okafor, to urgently wade into the matter before it snowballs into a full-blown crisis capable of tearing the organization apart in Lagos.
“We are calling on the President to act as a father and as a leader. He should call the Electoral Committee to order and direct them to reverse this illegal decision within 24 hours. The peace of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Lagos is at stake,” a leader warned.
They further threatened that if the illegal election is not reversed within 24 hours, they would be left with no option than to seek legal redress and petition the National Executive of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide.
“Ohanaeze is too big to be reduced to a cash-and-carry organization. We will not allow impostors to hijack our ancestral organization. An election where existing executives are sidelined, where money is allegedly collected, and where due process is jettisoned cannot stand,” they declared.
As at press time, all efforts to get the reaction of the Electoral Committee Chairman were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, members of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Oto-Awori LCDA insist that Chief Emmanuel Ubah remains the authentic and recognized Chairman pending a credible, transparent and constitutionally guided election.
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