The new leadership of Isuaniocha community in Awka North local government area of Anambra state on Monday called on all warring parties in the area to sheath their swords and pursue peace for the overall development of the town.
The new president general of the town, Mr Paul Okoye made the appeal while speaking with journalists in Isuaniocha on the need to resolve the crisis going on in the area.
Okoye maintained that there is no serious problem in the community as portrayed in some sections of the media.
He however said the only issue was that a particular family, the Onyeagolus who felt that they were wealthy and decided to wage war with the rest of the people in the community for their own personal gains.
Mr Okoye who was recently elected as the president general, however said his administration was for peace and called on all parties to come together with a view to resolving the issues on the altar of peace.
“The problem in Isuaniocha is not as big as people are made to believe.
“The problem is that a small group of people that have been perpetrating a lot of crime in Isuaniocha, misusing the Nigerian police because they have money.
“They killed somebody and instead of coming to plead with the people to forgive them, they are busy using the Nigerian police to harass the people because they have money.
“There is a tradition in this town, there is a way it can be settled, but they are doling out money and threatening even the people they killed their relations.
“But I want everybody to come back, let’s reorganize isuaniocha and let peace reign,” he said.
Reacting to recent accusations against the Anambra state Commissioner for Homeland Affairs, Mr Chikodi Anara by the former president general of Isuaniocha, Comrade Tony Onyeagolu, the new PG said Anara was instrumental to ensuring that there was peace in the community during his days as Special Adviser to former Governor Willie obiano.
According to him, the entire area would have been deserted if not for the intervention of Mr Anara who called government attention to the leadership highhandedness of Onyeagolu which was tearing the town into parts.
“Tony onyeagolu cannot accuse the Commissioner for Homeland Affairs.
“Mr Anara was the reason why people are still in Isuaniocha today.
“He used his office as SSA to the former governor to fight for peace in Isuaniocha.
“Under Onyeagolu was the first time I was seeing police work hand in hand with thugs and all sorts of people to arrest people.
“I was the financial secretary to Mr Onyeagolu.
“I was the assistant secretary under the leadership of Offorbike Mkpume.
“I served under all of them before becoming the PG now so I know them very well.
“Chikodi Anara wanted to bring peace but these people don’t want peace,” he said.
Mr okoye therefore appealed to the Governor Soludo-led administration, to set up a fact finding team to visit the community with a view to inviting all the parties and bringing lasting peace for the overall development of the area.
Also speaking, the youth leader of Isuaniocha , Ozor Onyemazu Ngini revealed that Onyeagolu was elected illegally as confirmed by Justice D.A Onyefulu in his judgment on Wednesday 3rd April 2019 at high court Holden at Onitsha.
Ozor Ngini explained that contrary to the claims of Onyeagolu that he was removed for not selling school land, his removal was as a result of his overzealousness and highhandedness within the period he held sway.
He said the intervention by the government to remove him was apt and was done in the best interest of the entire community who onyeagolu was beginning to abuse and intimidate with his family members.
“Tony Onyeagolu was never a PG based on the court judgement which came later after he had been removed by government for arrogating so much power to himself and being power drunk within a short period he took over.
“After he started misbehaving and arrogating power to himself without recourse to other executive members, our people approached the court to confirm the authenticity of his emergence as the PG, the judgment came after government had come to our rescue on his matter.
“Tony is the architect of his own problems.
“He came in and schemed to remove everybody including me just to make way for his own brother to be in the executive and when he could not succeed, he started a one-man show and that was how he started creating confusion and crises everywhere to the point of killing the vice chairman of the youth wing.
“His removal had nothing to do with land related matters as he claimed in some sections of the media,” Ngini explained.
Ngini advised the Onyeagolu family to come back and do the needful, apologize to the people and ask for forgiveness so that peace will reign in the community.
Meanwhile, when contacted, Onyeagolu, described all the allegations as laughable, saying the new PG should focus on moving the community forward instead of taking sides in the crises.
“The new PG said he worked with me and I was not a good person.
“He also said he worked with Mkpume, another PG and he was also not a good person.
“I wonder who will be a good person to him.
“This was someone I rescued when he was stranded in Ghana and now he is saying I am not a good person.
“I will leave that to God to judge whether he is saying the truth or not,” he said.
Onyeagolu faulted the new PG for exonerating Commissioner Anara from the crises, saying that his claims that the Commissioner was instrumental to ensuring peace in the community negates his earlier claims that he is not involved in Isuaniocha matters.
“In the last claim by the Commissioner, he said he is from Amanuke and was never involved in Isuaniocha matter.
“Now, the new PG is saying he is the one who has been settling Isuaniocha matter, meaning that I was right about my allegations that the Commissioner is the reason behind the whole problem we are having in Isuaniocha.
“I have enough evidence to prove that,” Onyeagolu boasted.
