Enugu East group Alleges 30-Year Marginalization, Demands Council Chairmanship

As Enugu State awaits pronouncement of Governor Peter Mbah on the pending local government council elections in the state, Stakeholders from Mbulu-Njodo, Mbulu-Iyiukwu, and Mbulu-Owehe zones in Enugu East Local Government Area have accused the Nike-Uno zone of monopolizing the council chairmanship for 30 years.

This is as the group claims that it has the majority in council area, with no less than 75 percent of them constituting the chunk of the local government area population.

In a statement it issued in Enugu, on Friday, spokesperson of the group, Barr. Chukwuemeka Agbo, said that the imbalance contravenes a 2007 pact signed by traditional rulers and stakeholders to rotate political positions among the four development centers in the LGA.

They therefore pleaded with Governor Mbah to correct the imbalance using the forthcoming local government elections in the state scheduled for September 2026.

Enugu East LGA was created in 1996 and divided into four geopolitical zones: Nike-Uno, Mbulu-Njodo, Mbulu-Owehe, and Mbulu-Iyiukwu. 

According to the statement, the agreement was meant to ensure equitable distribution of development and political offices.

But the group listed that all the 12 chairmen who have led the local government council since 1996 till date all came from Nike-Uno zone. 

“This wanton abandonment and neglect have seen to it that Nike- Uno political zone has perpetuated herself in holding on to and producing the prime leadership of Enugu East Local Government Area by whatever name it is called,” Agbo said.

The stakeholders argued that the situation has bred political crisis, suspicion, and acrimony among the zones, warning that the “time bomb” should be defused before the next election cycle. 

They called on Governor Peter Mbah to intervene and correct what they described as political imbalance in the chairmanship selection.

The group noted that Nike land historically enjoyed harmonious coexistence and urged a return to equitable power sharing to restore peace and trust across the zones.