Ukwuani Councillor Accuses Chairman of Rights Violations and Intimidation, Chairman Denies Allegations

OBIARUKU/Nigeria: An open letter by Mr. Victor Chukwuemeke, the Councillor representing Ward 19 in Ukwuani Local Government Area, Delta State, has brought to light concerns over governance and legislative relations in the council.

Shared via his verified X (formerly Twitter) account, the letter titled “An Open Letter to His Excellency, Rt. Hon. (Elder) Sheriff Oborevwori, Governor of Delta State,” calls for the governor’s intervention on critical matters affecting the local government.

In the letter, Chukwuemeke extended his seasonal greetings to Governor Oborevwori and commended his efforts to enhance the state’s infrastructure and hold contractors accountable for project standards. He praised the governor’s strides in governance, describing them as “changing the narratives in a noble direction.” However, he expressed deep concerns over the conduct of the Ukwuani Local Government Chairman, Hon. Barr. Solomon Possible Ajede, and highlighted issues of alleged overreach, poor councillor welfare, and violations of constitutional rights.

He accused Ajede of disregarding legislative norms and fostering a hostile environment in the council. “From the first day of this administration, the chairman breached laid-down conventions by dictating the election of principal officers in the legislative house,” he stated. He alleged that Ajede’s actions included threatening councillors and undermining their roles, leading to division and a lack of cohesion within the council.

The councillor also lamented the poor welfare of councillors, describing it as a stark contrast to Governor Oborevwori’s grassroots-focused agenda. According to him, Ukwuani ranks among the lowest in councillor welfare and chairman-legislator relations in Delta State. “Majority are aghast and spooked to speak up,” he noted, citing a comparative analysis with other local governments.

On his suspension from the council, Chukwuemeke alleged that it stemmed from Facebook posts that did not mention specific names or councils but were used as a pretext to silence him. Despite tendering apologies on the advice of party stakeholders, he claimed his suspension was upheld unjustly. “Even when I collapsed in the legislative chamber, my apologies fell on deaf ears,” he wrote, decrying the erosion of his rights to free expression as enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution.

The councillor further warned that the chairman’s alleged actions could jeopardize the success of future elections in the local government. He called on Governor Oborevwori to intervene, urging a “sanitation exercise” to restore order and fairness within the council.

In a concluding plea, Chukwuemeke expressed his readiness to seek legal redress if the issues remained unaddressed. “As public elected officers, we are entrusted with the mandate of creating values beneficial to mankind. It is better to plant flowers than to plant thorns,” he wrote, urging the governor to use his office to resolve the grievances.

The letter, addressed to the governor, PDP leaders, and other party stakeholders, underscores the growing tensions in Ukwuani Local Government. It remains to be seen how Governor Oborevwori will respond to the councillor’s appeal, which raises questions about governance and the relationship between executive and legislative arms at the grassroots level.

The Chairman of Ukwuani Local Government Area, Barr Possible Ajede however denied the allegations, stating in a phone interview with Ndokwa Reporters that there has been a harmonious relationship with the councillors, and he does not interfere with their daily activities.

The Full Letter

BEFORE THE BANANA GETS ROTTEN AND THE GRAPE TASTE TURN SOUR.

AN OPEN LETTER TO HIS EXCELLENCY, RT. HON. (ELDER) SHERIFF OBOREVWORI, GOVERNOR DELTA STATE.

I hope my love letter meets His Excellency, our amiable Governor of Delta State, in good spirits?

Let me formally seize this platform on behalf of my beloved family and members of my constituency, to extend our heartfelt felicitations to His Excellency, our amiable Governor and his wonderful family on the occasions of the 2024 Christmas and the subsequent New Year celebrations.

Let me also acknowledge His Excellency’s performances in the area of improving the standards of Government infrastructure, by means of changing the narratives in a noble direction and to the best interests of Deltans. Your Excellency has by dints of hardwork decided to carry out oversight activities by consistently checkmating the excesses of contractors who have over the years, delivered substandard infrastructure to Deltans, and we are very proud of you sir.

At the fullness of time, Your Excellency, it is our prayers that the alchemy who creates heroes of mortal men shall not forsake you, and the verdict of history shall be kind to you.

Your Excellency sir, I’m not unaware of the implications of my actions, however, in the words of Sen. Dino Melaye, “if you speak the truth, you die, if you lie, you will die” Hence, I have chosen to speak the truth, and by the grace of God Almighty and the anticipated fair hearing and judgement of His Excellency, I will not die. Hence, the reason for this open love letter rests on the title of the letter.

Your Excellency sir, this love letter  would be premised on the following grounds:

1. The overbearing attitudes of the Council Chairman, Hon. Barr. Solomon Possible Ajede on the Legislative Arm in Ukwuani Local Government Area;
2. Poor welfarism of elected Councillors in Ukwuani Local Government Area;
3. Violation of my Constitutional rights, and my suspension;
4. The need to discourage actions that would tamper successes of future elections.

THE OVERBEARING ATTITUDES OF THE COUNCIL CHAIRMAN, HON. BARR. POSSIBLE AJEDE ON THE LEGISLATIVE ARM IN UKWUANI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA:

The overbearing attitudes of the Council Chairman, Hon. Barr. Solomon Possible Ajede commenced from the first day of this administration, when the Council Chairman unrestrictedly without recourse to conscience, breached the laid down conventions, procedures, requirements and practices of electing principal officers of the legislative house within the Councillors. Not only did he write the names, he openly threatened and cautioned the Councillors, further singled me out, threatened me so seriously before dictating those names of those he handpicked to govern the legislative house on his behalf. Some of the statements made include but are not limited to the following:

1. That we should bear in mind, that we were not elected, but that we were appointed;
2. That we should bear in mind that he had submitted results of our elections days before the date of our elections;
3. That our offices as Councillors are mere empowerment and as such, we should seek alternative employments because we don’t have jobs to do in the Council.

Bearing in mind that the Legislature is the bastion of democracy while the legislators are the trustees of corporate interest of the society, these assertions by the Council  Chairman constitute threats to our nascent democracy and to the functionalities of the Local Government system not just in Ukwuani Local Government Area nay Delta State, but in Nigeria at large.

His actions belittled our senses of representation, and it undermined the essence of our elections. His actions remained sources of division, unnecessary bickering amongst Councillors in Ukwuani Local Government Area, causing unhealthy witch-hunt and needless aches in the legislative house till date, thereby denying procedural and free flow of legislative businesses in Ukwuani local government legislative arm. Your Excellency, it has been a divide and rule, a strategy I strongly consider as archaic and old fashioned in modern leadership and administration.

POOR WELFARE OF ELECTED COUNCILLORS IN UKWUANI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA:

There’s no doubt whatsoever, that welfare of Deltans, particularly representatives piloting the affairs of governance at the grassroots are also captured in the programmes of His Excellency, but unfortunately, that spirit is not replicated in a descending order to the grassroots in Ukwuani Local Government Area.

It will interest His Excellency, the “grassroots Governor” (as it were on record), to note, that the welfare of grassroot representatives (the Councillors) has nothing to write home about in Ukwuani Local Government. Although majority are aghast and spooked to speak up.

From empirical and comparative analysis and survey, the statistics gathered through inter parliamentary relelations so far within the legislative houses in Delta State, Ukwuani can be adjudged so far to rank the least in terms of welfarism and Chairman-councillors relationship.

MY SUSPENSION:

It is noteworthy, that as parts of efforts to ensure that he pockets and stifle elected Councillors and convert the legislative arm into a rubber stamp, in order to assume autonomous control, my rights to freedom of expression and press as enshrined in Chapter IV, Section 39 of the 1999 Nigeran Constitution as Amended were violated.

Two posts on my Facebook account were referenced as basis for my suspension. Among the referenced Facebook posts, I did not mention names, neither did I mention local government, but these posts were measures for my suspension.

Some prominent state officers and leaders within the local government reached out to me to ensure I engaged the Council Chairman and come to terms with him. These respected individuals, I cannot jettison their advices, so I approached the Council Chairman with apologies and I also extended same as instructed to my colleagues whom I’m convinced were taking directives.

Your Excelleny sir, it will interest you to note that my apologies as instructed by leaders and party stakeholders fell on deaf ears as I was subsequently suspended without benefits, even when I collapsed in the Legislative Chamber at first instance, before a review was subsequently carried out on my terms of suspension.

THE NEED TO DISCOURAGE ACTIONS THAT WOULD THREATEN SUCCESSES OF FUTURE ELECTIONS:

Your Excellency sir, in the spirit of collective victories in future elections, I appeal and urge you sir to commence an in-house sanitation exercise, particularly amongst Ukwuani Local Government Council Chairman and Councillors (I mean Councillors who know when their rights are being tampered with).

Suppose the Council Chairman, Hon. Solomon Possible Ajede is not called to order at this early stage. In that case, his actions can be used as measures and gateways to cracks in the wall and his available operational variables are recipes and invitation to anarchy between the Executive and the Legislative arms in Ukwuani Local Government Area.

CONCLUSION:

As I conclude Your Excellency, I will not hesitate to escalate the retinue of their collaborative intentions by seeking redress from legally constituted authorities and institutions, should they continue to victimise me, and if these concerns raised are not addressed.

As public elected officers, I consider our current statuses as privileged passers-by in the lives of others, entrusted with the mandates of creating values beneficial to mankind. As passers-by, it is better to plant flowers than to plant thorns.

The truths and the rights that we acknowledge while in public offices are the flowers we plant, while the errors we fail to address are the thorns we plant. Either of our decisions and actions comes with multiplier effects.

I’m fully convinced that as part of defence, the Council Chairman in his usual ways of dominance may influence colleagues to put up defence, professionally scripted to distance themselves from the concerns raised in this love letter. This is one of my expectations.

Most importantly, at this juncture, let me seize this opportunity to appeal to His Excellency, to bring conscience to bare, and use your good offices to address issues of concerns raised herein.

May God Almighty continue to uphold his blessings upon the life of His Excellency, Rt. Hon. (Elder) Francis Sheriff Oborevwori in Jesus’s name.

Chukwuemeke K. Victor

aka Mr. Due Process Onye Ezhionum

Councillor Representing Ward 19, Ukwuani Local Government Area,

Delta State.

Attn:

State Chairman, PDP Delta State Chapter.

PDP Chairman, Ukwuani Local Government Area.

Ward 7, PDP Chairman, Ezhionum Kingdom.