There is tension in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State. At its centre are the former chairman of the transition committee of the council, Emeka Aforka, his former councillors and some politicians in the area.
Some members of Aforka’s transition committee have accused him of fraudulently diverting funds. Some 21 members who served with him during the Peter Obi administration submitted a five-page petition to Governor Willie Obiano.
Aforka dismissed the charge, saying his performance as transition committe chairman speaks for itself.
But in the petition, his accusers called on Governor Obiano to probe the former council chief because of the address he presented while handing over to the newly elected chairman of the council, Okey Enekwe.
The address, which Aforka submitted to Enekwe, listed some of the projects he initiated and completed throughout his two years and seven months in office.
In their petition, the members of the committee alleged that most of the projects Aforka claimed to have completed were nonexistent, saying that all he did was deceive the public.
Our correspondent gathered that the former council chief had some misunderstandings with his political godfather from Awgbu who convinced Obi to appoint him chairman.
It was gathered that Aforka incurred the wrath of his master when he refused to pay some debts owed by his boss immediately he left office, an obligation he was said to have been carrying out while in office.
The projects which the opposition listed as nonexistent included Ndiokolo Health Centre, construction of Eke-Oko and Afor-Ufuma markets.
Others were palliative measures that curtailed the Amaokpala erosion menace which for many years threatened the lives of the people of the community.
Also, in Afor-Udo Market in Nanka community, modern toilets were constructed for the convenience of the traders including the procurement and installation of a transformer at Eziokwe village in Ndikelionwu community.
It was gathered that the only project the former council chief did not complete was the Oronata Bridge after its flag-off.
Another allegation raised by the group was that they were paid N25,000 as monthly salary in the council by their former chairman instead of the approved N120, 000.
Some of the leaders of different communities who spoke with our correspondent on the issue said the petition allegedly aimed at stopping Aforka’s towering political height.
“The composition of the petition and the allegations raised against him showed a clear gang-up to tarnish his image. But let me tell you that everybody in this local government is happy and should be grateful to that young man,” Chief Okwudili Okafor said.
As a result of these allegations, some of the traditional rulers in the local government area have risen in defence of their former council chief.
For instance, the traditional ruler of Amaokpala, one of the communities that make up the council area, Igwe C. O. Okeke who said he is in possesion of a copy of the petition said: ”Nobody will ever perform a miracle; he did his best for the people of our local government, especially in my community where he did palliative work on the devastating erosion that has given us headaches in this area.
“One fact is that you cannot satisfy everybody no matter what you do. It is a common thing among our people to criticise but Emeka Aforka did perform well.”
Also speaking Igwe M.C Okechukwu of Awgbu, praised Aforka, even as he listed some of the projects he did in some of the communities, especially in Awgbu. Some of the projects he listed included schools, markets and healthcare centre, among others.
According to the monarch, those projects were there for people to see, adding that their prayer was to have another person that could perform like him.
Others who spoke to our correspondent said the former council chief performed well, even as they described the allegations as frivolous and unfounded.
The former members of the transition committee in the area, numbering 17 led by the ex-deputy chairman representing Ufuma Ward 2 Hon. Sam Mba, said those bent on rubbishing the legacies of the past administration were acting on their own.
“We are aware that the petition was sponsored and it was written in bad fate, spiced with lies and distortion of facts to discredit not only the former council administration but to label the APGA-led government as a failure in Orumba North.”
The said petition was allegedly written by one Ernest Igboanugo who was said to be a member of the cabinet of the former local government administration.
However, one of the signatories, who did not want his name in print, told our correspondentin Awka that Aforka was a smiling hangman in office who denied them of their entitlements.
Besides, he said the projects he claimed to have done were all painted sepulture to deceive the public. He regretted working under him.
Speaking with our correspondent, Emeka Aforka described the allegations against him as mischievous, character assassination and calculated attempt by some individuals to undermine his integrity.
His reaction was contained in a letter he wrote to Governor Obiano in which he said he was very aware of an attempt by an unnamed stakeholder in the local government to smear his image because of his popularity.
Aforka said when he was in office; he had cordial relationship with members of his cabinet and questioned why a petition should emanate, three months after he left office.
The letter was attached with payment vouchers signed by members of his committee to disprove their allegation that he paid them N25, 000 monthly salaries.
The chairman of the APGA youth wing in the local government, Sunday Ileka, told our correspondent that the disagreement of the major stakeholder who are fighting Aforka stemmed from the sharing formula of APGA positions in the area.
The refusal of Aforka to be part of the injustice, according to him, was the reason for his travails.
He said the stakeholders invited nine people for a meeting in a hotel in Awka where he made it clear that the party leader in the area must come from his ward and that was where myself and Aforka disagreed, thus, the battle” Ileka said.
QUOTE
Nobody will ever do miracle; he did his best for the people of our local government, especially in my community where he did palliative work on the devastating erosion that has given us headache in this area…One fact is that you cannot satisfy everybody no matter what you do. It is a common thing among our people to criticise but for Emeka Aforka, he did perform well
