2023: Anambra community insists on zoning for Assembly seat

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Lawrence Nwimo, Awka.

The people of Omor community in Ayamelum local government area, Anambra State have restated their position on which community to produce the candidate to represent Ayamelum State constituency at the State House of Assembly.

At a townhall meeting held in their community on Saturday, the people resolved against the alleged aspiration of the incumbent speaker, Rt Hon Uche Okafor who is reported to be interested in being reelected for third term into the State Assembly.

Ayamelum, situated at the border between Enugu and Anambra States is divided into three zones of South, North and Central, with Omor, Umueje, Omasi, Igbakwu, Umumbo, Anaku, Umuerum, Ifite Ogwari being the towns spread across the said zones.

The people said among the three zones in the council area, only the north and south had dominated the constituency seat courtesy of zoning instituted by past leaders of the communities. According to them, the south had represented for sixteen years whereas the north will complete their eight year after the 2023 general election.

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The people claimed that Omor which is in Anambra central remained the only town to take a shot at the constituency seat going by the said zoning formula and had not represented the constituency before, unlike her counterparts since the return of democracy in 1999.

Stating the position of the community shortly after the forum, former president general of Omor community, Hon Peter Chuba Emeka said it is the solitary state constituency and the council chairmanship that the communities in the area share in common.

He claimed that an agreement was signed in the 2014 where the communities unanimously agreed on a two-tenure zoning strategy to ensure equity, justice is served to member communities that make up the constituency.

According to him, “the meeting was to decided how best to achieve the community goal of producing member to represent the Ayamelum constituency at the State Assembly.

“We are suspecting a gang-up against the people of Omor in the election. What is good for the geese is good for the ganger. Nobody from Omor had tasted a position in Anambra Assembly since the return of democracy in 1999.

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“The local government chairman and the State House of Assembly are the only things that the communities in our Council area share in common. The state constituency rotates among the three zones in Ayamelum.

“The south had occupied the constituency position for sixteen years, the north would be completing their eight years next February, it is the turn of the central which is Omor to produce someone to represent people of the constituency.

“We are not saying the speaker did not perform well as our representative. He belonged to his zone and the gentleman’s agreement is that he should vacate the seat for another zone to taste.”

Corroborating, a stakeholder in the community, Barr Mike Ikegbunam said his people are more interested in producing the next lawmaker to represent the constituency and not any political affiliation.

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“We are not concerned about or interested in any political party, what we are after is for us to produce the next lawmaker.

“We are pleading with our brothers in other towns in Ayamelum to support the zoning as planned by our political leaders in the past so that there will be peace and cohesion in our area.

“The speaker has done his best. He should know that his own is over. Let him aspire higher. Now that he is completing his second term, that is enough and anything he failed to do within the eight years he served, he can no longer do it except it is in the house of representatives,” he concluded.

The meeting drew mammoth crowed of community members including illustrious sons abroad. Former Assembly members, former Transition Chairmen and branch leaders of the community werr present at the meeting.

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