• Allegations against me baseless
As the race for Igwe of Uli in Anambra State intensifies, a front runner, Ichie Nnanyelugo Igbonwelundu has assured his supporters his desire to ascend the throne was borne out of service and the love for his people.
Igbonwelundu spoke at a meeting with his group in Lagos where he emphasised the need to ensure due process, a statement by Mrs Precious King, head of Media and Information, said..
He dismissed allegations he borrowed money from defunct Uli Microfinance Bank (UMB) using his home as collateral but did not repay the loan nor relinquish the house to the bank.
Igbonwelundu, who was foundation chairman of Uli Community Bank (UCB), said at no time in his 17 years as chairman did he collect loan nor request the bank to give same to any relations and friends.
He said as chairman, he was not responsible for the day-to-day operations, adding the only time under his watch the board discovered the management had given out loan without following policy, the manager was sacked.
As an accomplished banker, Igbonwelundu, noted he stepped down as chairman in 2008 after the Annual General Meeting (AGM) that year, adding the accounts, minutes of the meetings, Annual Returns and other decisions taken were well documented, audited and ratified by the board.
He said the bank posted a profit after tax of over N11 million six years after he stepped down as chairman, which showed the bank was doing well financially during and after his tenure.
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Educating the gathering of the risks associated with banking, he maintained certain decisions by some key external actors and regulatory bodies impacted on the bank’s financial health, by sending the wrong signals to its depositors and creditors leading to panic withdrawals.
On allegation he was one of those who denied Uli the opportunity of being part of Mbaisato Local Government, Ichie described it as a figment of the imagination of originators of such rumours.
He reminded the gathering that local government creation was a constitutional matter and an exclusive preserve of the Federal Government, narrating how he and some other persons (some of them alive and can attest to this fact) made efforts to get the government’s greenlight for creation of the council but same was granted to Ekwusigo, Ozubulu.
Narrating the roles he had played in the progress of the town, he recalled his participation began in 1986 and he has not stopped supporting development, unity and peace of Uli.
Giving background on processes of electing an Igwe, Ichie told said the town’s constitution provides a four-tier democratic approach.
He said the constitution states that the eldest man in the four villages that make up Uli: Umuaku, Umuoma, Eziama and Ihite; the Oluohas, Council of Chiefs in consultation with the Uli Progressive Union (General Assembly) will vote for the candidates of their choice.
Ichie assured his supporters they were supporting the best man for the job, giving his records, integrity, selflessness and commitment to truth, fairness and justice.