Two local governments in Enugu State are now engulfed by a controversy over boundary adjustment and consequent distribution of projects in the 2018 budget. At the centre of the crisis are the people of Enugwu-Ngwo and their brother communities of Umunevo Ogui and Ogui Nike, all in Enugu North Local Government Area of the state.
The controversy was provoked by the State House of Assembly law, which excised parts of Enugu-Ngwo community, like Hilltop Ngwo, from Enugu North Local Government Area. The law is entitled, “The Enugu State Development Areas (Amendment) Law, 2017″, and was enacted by the State Assembly on July last year.
To aggravate the matter, the people of Umunevo Ogui and Ogui Nike communities, through their respective Town Union presidents-general, Barr. Chinedu Ede and Paul Anike, recently sent a petition to the state Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and the State House of Assembly, accusing the Chairman of Enugu North Local Government Area, Hon. Emma Onoh of concentrating development projects, in the council’s 2018 budget, around Hilltop Ngwo, which the petitioners claimed was not part of the government area.
The petitioners cited Section 3 of the Local Government Law Cap 109, 2004, of Enugu State, under the First Schedule, second column, at page 3,200. According to the petition seen by Sunday Telegraph, the two communities insisted that the law provides the areas which embody a particular local government area.
“Hilltop (Enugwu-Ngwo) is not in Enugu North Local Government Area but owned by the Ngwo-Asa communities in Udi Local Government Area, hence it is a misappropriation of funds and wrong for Enugu North Local Government to appropriate and utilise its revenue resources to execute projects in another local government,” they said.
Incensed by the latest “onslaught” from their neigbours, the people of Enugu-Ngwo community are, therefore, challenging the state law, and have sent an appeal to the Governor Ugwuanyi, to withhold his assent on the law. The community stated that the bill was defective as it adjusted the boundaries of existed local government area, and that if signed into law, would bring the governor and state government into ridicule.
A professor of law, Chief Agu Gab Agu, who spoke to journalists in Enugu on behalf of the community, cited the First Schedule, Part 1 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which he said made boundaries of local government areas in Nigeria sacrosanct, and can only be amended by the National Assembly following laid down procedures.
“There are a lot of misrepresentations in the bill before the House. The House has been misled to believe that they can work or contract or attempt any amendment to the boundaries or further delineation of a boundary of a local government.
“The local government is recognised by the provisions as stated in the First Schedule Part 1 of the Constitution. So the boundary of every local government is sacrosanct, and can only be amended, added or removed from by due amendment of the constitution and that is by recourse to Section 9 of the Constitution.
“Anything outside that is unlawful and cannot succeed. So if the House is now presenting a document for the governor to put an assent on it, to remove a particular part of a land that constitute the local government then they are trying to bring the governor into ridicule and it cannot stand. It will fail because nobody can do it, not even the House,” he insisted.
He said that any law made by the state which runs counter to federal law remains null and void to the extent of its inconsistency.
Prof. Agu also faulted the bill for recommending the creation of three development areas from one section of the local government while creating only one from another section which constitutes major land mass and population of the local government.
The legal luminary blamed the member representing Enugu North in the State Assembly, Hon. Philip Nnamani, who he said is a lawyer and ought to have pointed out the anomalies in the bill but did not do so apparently due to hidden interest.
The law professor and former Dean, Faculty of Law of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) said: “Our payer is that the governor should refuse to assent that bill as it relates to Enugu North, we are not against any other thing, it is very important; (but) as it relates to Enugu North, it has to be revisited.
“They (state lawmakers) cannot create a local government and if they cannot create a local government they cannot contract any one, they cannot reduce or deduct on any one.
“And to rub salt into injury, the presidents general of Umunevo Ogui and Ogui Nike, the same Ogui that has one community before this time, had the audacity to write a letter to the governor through the commissioner, alleging that the local government chairman is trying to develop Hilltop that they said is not part of Enugu North local government. I don’t know where they got that from,” he said.
He insisted that Hilltop Enugwu-Ngwo had always been part of Enugu North Local Government area “from time immemorial”, and that they formed part of the federally delineated INEC wards that voted the member representing Enugu North into the State Assembly.
“And I’m saying that that bill has failed ab-initio because of that and I think the proper thing is to excise that provision so that Enugu state can enjoy their development areas, so that those other areas that do not have conflict can be assented to and they move on.
“What the framers of this bill are trying to insinuate is that it is only Ajagu/Agangwu that belongs to Ngwo. Everybody knew that Enugu as it has always been known is Enugwu-Ngwo from time immemorial and we don’t want to start creating this tension by beginning to have this war or fight verbally because they are known, it is only for those who are mischievous and who want to cause rift that are bringing this because everybody knows the boundary and it is very clear,” he said.
When contacted, the member representing Enugu North in the House of Assembly, Hon. Philip Nnamani pleaded with our reporter that he should be allowed get the permission of the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Edward Ubosi before he could respond to the issues raised by Prof. Agu and his community.
He said: “I didn’t pass any bill alone. It takes two third of members of the House of Assembly to pass a bill into law. Since it is about a bill passed by the state House of Assembly, I will like to get the permission of the Speaker before I can react properly to the allegations.”
But when told that there were direct allegations against him by the law professor, who is also his constituent, Hon Nnamani said the issues are the same.
“The onus does not rest on the professor to say that I’m not representing the constituency well, or that I’m creating division and disharmony in the constituency; let him come out with the evidence.”
Hon. Nnamani said there was nothing wrong if the petitioners, who are leaders of their communities, saw something wrong and against the law of the state and decided to petition against it.
Meanwhile, the State House of Assembly Committee on Local Government Matters, penultimate Thursday drilled the Chairman of Enugu North Local Government Area, Hon. Emma Onoh for 30 minutes over allegation that the council boss was developing Hill Top (Enugu-Ngwo), said to be outside the council’s boundaries.
The Committee Chairman, Hon. Iloabuchi Aniagu, had through a letter dated June 25, 2018, which he personally signed, summoned the Enugu North council boss to appear before the committee by 11am.
Hon. Aniagu, had also directed the council boss to respond in writing to the petition against him by the people of Umunevo Ogui and Ogui Nike communities, entitled, “Wrongful inclusion of projects in Hilltop Top Ngwo into the 2018 budget of Enugu North Local Government Area”.
Hon. Onoh, in compliance with the summons, appeared before the Committee penultimate Thursday where he took questions from lawmakers in a closed door meeting.