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Saturday, January 18, 2025

Uzere Leadership Feud: Protesting Women Storm LG Secretariat, Seek Chairman’s Intervention

By Michael Ilaya/Kelvin Ohoror

Palpable tension arose Monday as the women of Uzere community in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State stormed the Isoko South Local Government Secretariat over leadership crisis and an alleged tenure elongation by one Sunny Eke, calling the on the Chairman for urgent intervention to restore peace.

The protesters carried placards bearing various inscriptions such as “Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, Call Sunny Eke to Order”, “Say No to Tyranny”, “Say No to Oppression”, “We Need Free and Fair Election in Uzere”, “Sunny Eke Tenure Has Ended, and “Say No to Intimidation”.

Other inscriptions include “Uzere Need Peace Not Crisis”, “Sunny Eke is Causing Problem and Crisis to Uzere” and “We Say No to Impunity” amongst others.

The leader of the protesters, Madam Adhekega Patience recalled an earlier consensus by members of Uzere community to shun any act capable of igniting crisis in the community, saying that “during our August, 2024 conference the entire community agreed that we should avoid whatever will bring back the crisis of 2011 and 2012 in Uzere community”.

She asserted that the December conference was supposed to be held, but no conference was held, adding that so many people in the community were dumbfounded over the issue.

Narrating their ordeals, Madam Adhekegba noted that “Uzere community leadership tenure is two years for every elected office holder; the outgoing President-General, Mr. Sunny Eke has refused to call a conference so that election can be conducted to elect new executive”.

According to her, “people no longer sleep with two eyes in the community as a result of gunshots every day in the community”.

Also speaking, Mrs. Lawrence Onezioke, one of the protesters said “I am tired of war, the crisis that happened years ago, we are yet to recover from it, I have not been locking my door as a result of fear in case anything happen I can easily run away.”

She said that, “every end of the year, we normally hold our conference, but the outgoing President-General, Mr. Sunny Eke claimed conference was held, during a stakeholders meeting with the Isoko South Local Government Chairman, it is a lie from the pit of hell, no conference was held December last year”.

“The local government chairman should be briefed that no conference was held in Uzere; Uzere women were never part of any conference held December last year.
“We are tired of crisis, we don’t need war, we need peace in Uzere community”.

On her part, Mrs. Ateghijeri Koko reiterated that they were tired of crisis, noting that they do not need war in Uzere community. “if there is war now, we don’t have any where to run to, during 2011 and 2012, this is how the crisis started and it escalated into a full scale war, houses were burnt down, till now many are yet to recover from it. We were sleeping inside the forest during that crisis”, she lamented.

“Every evening till dawn, Mr. Sunny Eke boys always used gunshots to terrorise the community as a result, we are always in panic mood, let the outgoing president-general be send a clear message that his tenure has elapsed and to give peace a chance.”

“We are pleading with the local government chairman to intervene in order to avoid the aforementioned occurrence”.

The women, in their separate speeches, added that the community women urgently require peace and urged the chairman to intervene.
They also called on those who want to plunge Uzere community into full scale war to order and restore peace to the agrarian and oil rich Uzere community.
Responding, the Local Government Chairman, Hon. Friday Warri, in a telephone chat said his administration was aware of the issue.

“we are on top of the issue. If there is any letter you should should drop it”. “We are already handling the issue, nothing will happen in Uzere community, you people should go back home and go to your various farms, when I return I will invite you people to come for discussion.”

He assured the women that “Government is going to handle the issue based on facts and truth. We are going to be straightforward, government will not bend his hands on this issue,” he said.

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