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The former executive members of the Abia State branch of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) have been swept away by the five-month-long crisis that plagued their leadership.
Those feeling the impact of the ongoing crises include Comrade Ikechi Nwaigwe and Comrade Abayomi Afolabi, who were democratically elected as President and Secretary of NULGE in May 2023.
Nwaigwe has purportedly been reassigned to a government ministry within the State, while Afolabi, the former Union Secretary, faces suspension by union members over allegations of working against the union’s interests.
To address this, a newly appointed Caretaker leadership has been introduced in the State with the responsibility of overseeing NULGE’s activities for approximately two weeks, following which a new election will be held to determine the executive members.
Comrade Obinna Nwogu is at the helm of the Caretaker leadership, along with a cadre of other leaders.
During the recent inauguration of the Caretaker leadership in Umuahia, Comrade Ijeoma Onyenucheya, a former key figure in the union, charged the NULGE Caretaker leaders to ensure the conduct of an impartial election and provided guidance to local government employees in the State on electing competent leaders.
Read also: Abia NULGE Protest Otti’s Alleged Imposed ‘Stooges’
Nwaigwe and Afolabi have grappled with a sequence of hurdles since their election in May, primarily brought about by the rise of a competing factional leadership claiming to be the rightful executive.
The two factions inundated the public with a barrage of announcements, counter-announcements, and press releases, with each faction insisting it had emerged victorious in the May 2023 election.
Two executives of the Abia NULGE union, Kenneth Nwasuka and Ikechuckwu Uko, were expelled by the National Leadership of NULGE in August, citing their alleged actions against the interests of NULGE in Abia.
The expulsion was later authorized by Comrade Isa Gambo, who serves as the NULGE National Secretary, with the date stamped as July 21, 2023.
Speaking to the press about the crises, an employee of the Abia State Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Umuahia exonerated the current Abia State Government, stating that the turmoil predates its tenure in office.
It was deemed inappropriate by the ministry’s employees to associate Governor Alex Otti’s administration with the union’s crises.
