Host communities of the Afam Power Station, under the auspices of Umuihueze 1 Clan, have demanded that the next chairman of Oyigbo local government area of Rivers State should come from one of the communities.
The three-year tenure of the current local government chairmen in Rivers State, who were elected in 2021 during the administration of former Governor Nyesom Wike, will expire in the first quarter of 2024.
Speaking with LEADERSHIP Weekend in Port Harcourt yesterday, a community leader in the area, Hon Innocent Ajaelu, said the demand was based on the existing zoning arrangement among the three clans in the local government area.
Ajaelu, stated that the current chairman of the LGA, Hon Okechukwu Akara Nwogu, who hails from Umuokobo clan, succeeded Hon Gerald Oforji from Asa Clan, noting that no local government chairman in the area has served for more than one tenure.
He therefore appealed to Nwogu, to respect the existing zoning formula in the LGA by not making moves to seek for a second term in office as chairman in the interest of peace, equity, justice and fair-play.
The community leader said: “First, let me say that Oyigbo local government area is made up of three clans; we have Asa, Umuokobo and Umuihueze 1.
“Right from inception and creation of Oyigbo LGA, it has been that the chairmanship and House of Assembly positions have been among these three clans. It is a gentleman agreement that has been respected since the creation of Oyigbo local government area till tomorrow.
“Now, that the tenure of the incumbent local government chairman is coming to an end, sometime in February 2024 or so, I want to urge everybody in Oyigbo LGA to maintain that our zoning arrangement that has brought peace, equity, justice and fair play to all the clans so that there will be peace and progress in the local government area.
“We don’t want this current chairman to start lobbying and doing the things he knows how to do to see if he can have second tenure. No chairman, nobody in Oyigbo local government area has done two tenures as a council chairman because of the way the local government area is wired.
“This time around is the turn of Umuihueze 1 to produce the next executive chairman of Oyigbo LGA.”
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