Abia State Government has commenced plans to review and re-gazette autonomous communities across the state as part of efforts to restore order, strengthen grassroots governance and address recurring communal disputes.
The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prince Uzor Nwachukwu, disclosed this on Saturday at the JAAC Secretariat in Umuahia during a statewide meeting of Presidents-General of towns and developmental Unions.
The meeting was convened by the State Government through the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
Prince Nwachukwu said the exercise had become necessary due to the irregularities observed in the existing structure of autonomous communities, noting that the last gazetting was carried out about 11 years ago.
“We are embarking on review of autonomous communities. If we go to our gazettes, as carried out about 11 years ago, when the last gazetting was done, we are overdue, but we are supposed to have re-gazetted by last year because it’s done once every 10 years.
“You see all sorts of operations. You will find instances where one village is gazetted into two autonomous communities.
“You will find instances where one village is in one community but certain kindreds and families are in another community. Those are confusions.
“There are situations where a traditional ruler, in his domain, who is a custodian of an autonomous community, has his village ceeded to another Traditional Ruler.
“So he has become a subject of that Traditional Ruler. Are you aware of those things? Those are operations. So this year we are going to do a regazeting.
“These things call for crisis. There is no week I receive anything less than 50 petitions in my office. None!”, he stated.
The Commissioner explained that the persistent disputes arising from such anomalies informed the establishment of conflict management and mediation centres in all local government areas of the State.
He further announced that the government would institutionalize town and development Unions to ensure proper coordination and accountability at the grassroots level.
“We want to institutionalize town and development Unions. So, you (participants) can find out that your details have been taken. We want to make sure, who the leaders of these town and community development Unions in the various communities are.
“So we want to make sure we are doing documentations. The same kind of thing that is happening with traditional institutions, where two, three, four, five people will go through the process of being elected traditional rulers of their places.
“And then one person will win, the other four will not agree. And everybody, four of them or five of them will go to the local government and insist that they must be received. And all of them are received.
“We are putting a stop to all those for the sake of the progress of our land. So we are creating a statewide database”, he said.
Prince Nwachukwu emphasised that the government has no interest in determining who emerges as President-General or community development chairman, but insisted that due process must be followed.
He described the meeting as a decisive step towards strengthening grassroots governance, noting that town and development Unions have historically driven rural development but have recently been weakened by poor structure, lack of documentation and leadership conflicts.
Prince Nwachukwu who clarified roles within the community leadership system, stated that traditional rulers remain custodians of culture and symbols of unity, while Presidents-General and development Unions leaders serve as administrators and drivers of development.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security Matters, Navy Commander MacDonald Uba (rtd.), described the meeting as a novel initiative and stressed that security remains a collective responsibility.
He urged community leaders to take intelligence gathering seriously, noting that effective security depends on timely information sharing.
In their remarks, the Mayor of Umunneochi Local Government Area, Hon. Sunday Afuruobi, and a representative of the Abia State Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze Sampson Jinanwa, pledged continued collaboration with development uynions to enhance peace and development at the grassroots.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Lady Oge Maduka, said the meeting marked the beginning of a new phase in the state’s efforts to strengthen community governance.
“This engagement has therefore be convened to establish a direct interface between government and the leadership of town and development unions”, she said.
Leaders of various communities, including Dr Greene Nwoha of Oro-Ibere Autonomous Community, Chief Yuccee Ottah Uwah of Abiriba Communal Improvement Union Worldwide, and Hon. Chukwudi Edward Egwuonwu of Ozuitem Community, commended Governor Alex Otti for convening the meeting, describing it as the first of its kind and expressing optimism that it would enhance security, peace and development across the state.
