A member of the PDP Equity Movement from Ubulu clan in Aniocha South local government area o f Delta state, Mr. Andrew Onyisi Okolie, has called for equity, balance and fairness in the distribution of political positions in the local government area.
In a voice note made available to Emerald News on Monday, Mr. Onyisi said there are three clans in the local government. He listed them to include Ogwashi Uku, Ubulu and Nsukwa clans.
In the current political dispensation, he said the member representing the local government in the state house of assembly, Hon. Isaac Anwusia, is from Ogwashi Uku clan, Hon. Joan Onyemaechi, the commissioner for technical education, is from Ubulu clan, hence he is of the view that for equity, fairness and balance, the local government chairman should come from the Nsukwa clan.
Mr. Onyisi argued that as far as there are three statutory positions in the local government area, they should be equally distributed among the three clans in the local government. This, according to him, is for all members of the PDP in the local government to have a sense of belonging in the PDP political family.
Onyisi, who is from Ubulu-Unor, PDP ward 6, told this online portal that there are some persons in the local government who do not agree with this fair distribution of political positions but rather are bent on scheming all positions within their family circle at the detriment of over 30,000 indigenes of the Aniocha South local government area.
He said: “I want to re-emphasise our decisions to keep on using Aniocha South political family as our primary focus in distribution of political positions. The importance of adopting equity in Aniocha South cannot be over emphasized.
“We have been appealing to our leaders day and night to do what is right by ensuring that Nsukwa clan produces the next local government council chairman in this 2024 local government election.
“This is as a result of the fact that we have three clans in Aniocha South LGA. After the last 2023 election, we got three statutory positions. If you are a man truthful to yourself, if you stand for justice and fairness, how do you share three statutory positions that came to a local government that is made up of three federated clans?
“If you are a man with the sense of belonging, equity and balance, I think the three statutory positions should be distributed evenly across the three clans in the local government area. Ogwashi Uku has occupied House of Assembly in the person of Isaac Anwuzia, Ubulu clan occupies the position for technical education in the person of Joan Onyemaechi, Therefore, I think the best thing to do is for Nsukwa clan to produce the next LGA chairman.
“This is because there are three statutory positions which are House of assembly position, the commissioner’s position and the LGA chairman. Therefore, these three positions should be distributed across the three clans of the local government area. This is for equity, fairness and balance.
“But if as a leader, you feel because you have power, you are a commissioner. You want your younger brother as council chairman who is the same father and mother with you in a local government where we have over 30,000 persons. This is not fair and runs against equity and balance of political power.
“This wrong decision will have detrimental effect on the people of Aniocha South local government. It will reduce the number of voters, because when we work and you take the dividends to your own pocket, and your family alone, the people that worked with you will never be happy to work with you again.
“This is what reduces the number of voters in Aniocha south LGA. But if we work and we share the benefits together, when there is another work, we will come back and work together again. We can even attract more people to ourselves when they see the benefits being shared by all members.
“This keeps us more united. It keeps us as one family. But a situation where you are commissioner and your relative is also woman leader, SSAs, over nine appointments within the same ward 5. You have rewarded them so much. Now, you want to also reward them with council chairman? Are you telling us that there is nobody who is qualified in other wards that can handle any office in the council?”
Mr. Onyisi is insisting that it is unfair and unacceptable for one to be a commissioner and also wants to impose their brother as council chairman when there are over 30,000 people in a local government area. He said such thinking is inhuman, unfair and inconsiderate.
He added: “You think only you and your family deserve these positions. Outside your family, nobody else in Aniocha south local government is fit and qualified to get these positions. You feel because you are commissioner, nobody else should talk in Aniocha south. My question is who are you? Who do you think you are?”
Mr. Oniyisi, whose voice depicts anger and displeasure over the development, noted that it will be wrong for the people of Aniocha south to serve the people currently in power and they will also serve their children in succession. For him, this is bad leadership from PDP leaders in the local government.
He continued: “Our leaders should consider our plea that Nsukwa clan should produce the next local government council chairman. That is equity, fairness and balance of power. That is justice. We are telling you this today because we do not want what happened in 2023 to repeat itself.
“If our leaders decide not to listen to the voice of reason and agree that one family business is the best for us, then by 2027, we will take a decision for ourselves. PDP is one family but if we are one family, we must share things as a family. How can we all fight as a family and one person is enjoying the benefits? The only way you can say we are united is when the reward of our fight comes and we all share it to everybody.
“I want to remind you that Joan Onyemaechi who is commissioner for technical education from Obulu clan is planning to return her younger brother, Jude Chukwuwinke, who is the immediate past local government chairman back to the council as chairman. Two of them cannot occupy statutory positions. Onyemaechi and her brother are trying to bend the rules to favour them thereby ensuring that she remains as commissioner and her younger brother becomes the council chairman. To this we are saying NO!!
“We are not scared but we are only appealing to you to please do the right thing so that our governor will not be disappointed in Aniocha south in the 2027 general elections. These three positions should be shared equally among the three clans.
“Because of the love we have for the PDP we don’t want to destroy the party. One woman who says she is so big and bigger than Nigeria, tha n the whole local government, she wants to take over everything and nobody should talk. The Equity Team is saying enough is enough, enough of monopoly. We want Aniocha South back to us. We want a collective fight and a collective enjoyment.”
In a similar report, the Equity Movement a fortnight ago, welcomed 100 members of the party who decamped to other parties back to the PDP in Isheagu, a community in Aniocha south council area.
In the reception for the decampees, Hon. Isaac Anwuzia commended ward 9 which happens to be Nsukwa clan. He said Nsukwa clan worked very hard for the party in the last election, hence it deserved a good position in the local government area.
Those present in the reception were Aniocha South political dignitaries in the persons of Hon. Austin Chikezie, former House of Assembly member and present board chairman of Delta Broadcasting Service; Hon. Isaac Anwuzia, member of the House of Assembly representing Aniocha South, Hon. Rita Daniels, SSA to the Governor on Women mobilization, the PDP Delta North Senatorial chairman, Moses Iduh, and many other dignitaries.
