Anambra community Igweship election: Ezeigbo Lagos picks form ...2 more hurdles await candidates-OPU
By Chinwe Nwacha, Onitsha
It was a carnival of a sort at Oba Civic Centre, Idemili South Local Government Area, Anambra State, when one of the four Igweship candidates, Chief Godwin Njubigbo, who is the Ezeigbo of Mainland and Yaba local Government Area, Lagos, picked his form for the Igweship race after emerging victorious in the primary election of his Aborji village.
The Igweship hopeful, Njubigbo, stormed the Civic centre in gland style as he was accompanied by his Aborji village relations that included, President General, PG, Nze Dozie Nweke, Chiefs, music bands,/groups, friends and well wishers to the amazement of the Oba Patriotic Union, OPU executive led by Engr. Anthony Uzor Ejiofor, as President General, PG.
Addressing the OPU executive, the PG of Aborji Village, Nze Nweke, said that they came in company of the Igweship hopeful, Njubigbo, to pick the Igweship form as demanded by the Oba community constitution and commended the OPU executive for her efforts to ensure production of Igwe Eze Okpoko the second (11) of Oba.
In his response while presenting the form to the Aborji PG, on behalf of Chief Njubigbo, the OPU boss, (PG), Chief Ejiofor, expressed satisfaction with the large turn up of followers that accompanied Njubigbo to pick the form adding that it showed the people of Oba were satisfied with the work of OPU in the community.
"We are being commended for planning to elect a new monarch to substitute former Igwe Eze Okpoko, Igwe Peter Ezenwa, who joined his ancestors, as a priority of this OPU through the Oba constitution.
"We are issuing the forms to four candidates that emerged victorious in their different villages and so far two out of the four have collected their forms and they include Okuzu and now Aborji villages. However, there are still two hurdles awaiting the four Igweship candidates and they are screening and the election proper.
"On return of the filled form, it will be accompanied with the candidate's passport, prove of payment of money donated if any as it is not compulsory. Our constitution said less than #5,000 for the collection of the form but since we have plan of having a permanent palace for our Igwe, whoever that gives us #10 million or above, like #20 million, #30 million, it is welcomed.
"It is a willful donation not compulsory for the four candidates and our sons and daughters who want to also express desire in the new palace, they are free to make donation as we target about #100 million for the modern palace," he disclosed.
"The law says the Igwe-elect must be crowned within six months and that is why we want to do that at the permanent palace as the former palace is that of the deceased Igwe Ezenwa," he further explained.
In his response, the Ezeigbo Lagos and Igweship hopeful, Njubigbo, thanked the PG of OPU and his executives adding that they put their time, money and selflessness to move Oba forward even as he cursed whoever that plans to frustrate their efforts.
"I will return my filled form with willful donation of #10 million having heard of plans to have a permanent palace and I have before now been assisting financially and otherwise to assist in taking Oba to the next level," he further added.
He urged the PG and his executives not to be deterred by enemies of progress who try to frustrate their efforts adding that the entire Oba is on their side to not only produce a new monarch but infrastructural development of the community.
Reacting, the Saraki Igbo Kaduna, (Ezeigbo in Kaduna), Chief Anthony U. Nwoye, disclosed that Njubigbo has garnered wealth of experience in Igweship as the Ezeigbo of Lagos and will impact such experience on his Oba people.
" In Lagos he is paid as monarch just like myself who is paid in Kaduna as monarch. Njubigbo is also educated, wealthy, and he is a philanthropist that is not pompous and that is the type of person we want, one with open door policy. I am not saying this because we come from same village but because he is a born philantropist," he affirmed.
Also the former PG of Aborji village, Chief Samuel Obianyo, (a.k.a. Double Chief), described Njubigbo as God-sent to curtail the sufferings of the people adding that he is a man of the people who God has chosen just like in the Biblical little David, a shepherd, from the house of Jesse, to be king of Israel.
"It is now our turn, we gave other villages five years to produce a new monarch but they could not, now with divine intervention we will clinch the throne," he affirmed.