By Michael Ovat
The Anambra State Ministry of Local Government, Chieftancy and Community Affairs, has dismisses an online publication making the round that Amichi community in Nnewi South Local Government Area of the State is currently in crisis over the leadership of Amichi Development Union (ADU).
The State Commissioner in charge of the Ministry, Barrister Vin Ifeanyi Ezeaka, dismissed the report while speaking to Journalists at his office in Awka, on Friday, August 14th, 2026.
Ezeaka appealed to the people of the community and the state as a whole to disregard the publication, noting that the town is peaceful and united.
Recall that some section of the community is protesting following allegations that the Commissioner unlawfully extended the tenure of the union’s President-General, Mr Cletus Udebuani.
The aggrieved members, in a statement titled “Statement of Facts: Amichi Development Union (ADU) Leadership Dispute,” appealed to the Anambra State Governor, Mr Chukwuma Charles Soludo, to caution the commissioner and ensure that the provisions of the union’s constitution and a subsisting court order are respected.
The dispute reportedly dates back to the 2022 election of the President-General of the ADU, following which some aggrieved members instituted a suit challenging the outcome.
According to the statement, the legal action was instituted despite the Anambra State Government having earlier certified Udebuani as President-General of the union.
The group said on July 21, 2026 the court issued an interlocutory order directing the parties to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the substantive suit or the vacation of the order.
It said the order specifically restrained the plaintiffs and Udebuani from assuming or occupying the office of President-General, while also barring the Registered Trustees of the union and other parties from conducting a fresh election into the office pending the determination of the case.
The group further cited the constitution of the ADU, which, according to it, provides for a four-year, non-renewable tenure for the President-General.
It said the constitution contains no provision for extending the tenure, retaining an outgoing president in office, or establishing a caretaker arrangement.
Rather, the group claimed, the constitution empowers the Registered Trustees to take interim control of the union’s affairs whenever there is a leadership crisis or vacancy.
The controversy escalated on August 7, 2026, one day after Udebuani’s four-year tenure was said to have expired.
The group alleged that Commissioner Ezeaka issued a letter purporting to extend Udebuani’s tenure until the next adjourned court date in 2027, in negation of Anambra State Government law by the Commissioner which states that Government intervention in any community affairs must be in accordance with the community’s Constitution.
According to the statement, the extension was made without consultation with the Registered Trustees of the union.
The group argued that the commissioner’s directive was inconsistent with both the subsisting court order and the ADU constitution.
It maintained that the court’s status quo order could not be interpreted as conferring a fresh right on an office holder whose constitutionally prescribed tenure had expired.
“A status quo order preserves the existing legal rights as they stand; it does not grant new rights or extend a fixed constitutional term limit,” the statement said.
Reacting further, the Commissioner insisted that the extension of the current executive of Amichi Development Union led by it current President General, Mr Cletus Udebuani remain unchanged until the Court order is vacated.
“What is currently happening in the community is just a section of people trying to take over the leadership of the town against the wishes of the people.
The duty of the present administration of governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo is to make sure that every community in Anambra State that is in Court is out of the Court.
“To the best of my knowledge, Amichi town has no crisis. It’s just a section of some people in the community like other in the state are trying to disrupt the peace of the town.
The tenure of the current President General actually expired on the 12th August, 2026 and they begin to prepare to hold a another election by 29th August, 2026, and we told them that August 29th is for the State Local Government election, then we planned to extend the town union election for one week ahead or one week below and why we were doing that, we were served with Court injunction and immediately the Ministry contacted Amichi relevant stakeholders headed by Chief Simon Okeke (Ochendo Amichi) and we deliberated on the matter which amount to the elongation of the current executive until the Court order is vacated.
“We are not saying that we will not conduct another election but the matter should be vacated from the Court.
*The allegation against me is unnecessary because I didn’t come from Amichi town. I have no any personal interest in Amichi community leadership whatsoever. Dragging my name into it is unnecessary.
“The Ministry under my watch is doing what will favour Anambra State government and the good people of Amichi community and not crisis, the Commissioner concluded.
