Your Excellency,
The Executive Governor Elect of Anambra State.
Sir,
THE NEED TO PASS A BILL FOR THE CREATION OF COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT ASSEMBLY {CDA} TO BE OPERATIONAL IN ALL THE AUTONOMOUS
COMMUNITIES IN ANAMBRA STATE
While I congratulate you on your success in the election that you
emerged as the winner in Anambra State, permit me to use this medium to
bring to your knowledge and for your consideration on the need to
overhaul and redefine community government structures and pattern in the
various (autonomous) communities in Anambra State, especially as it
concerns the leadership of town unions.
Your Excellency, I strongly believe that if this suggestion is
favorably considered by you in your administration and it is presented
as a Bill in the Anambra State House of Assembly, when eventually
enshrined in our State Law will establish dignity, equity and fairness
in the way and manner various communities’ government should be
administered in Anambra State.
Town Union Operation And Activities In The Autonomous Communities In Anambra State.
The town unions in our communities were purposely designed and
supposedly operationalised for speedy socio-political-cum-economic
engineering and development at the community level. They are to serve as
link between the constitutional ruling government of the State and the
communities. They function to ensure constitutional adherence by members
of the communities. However, contrary to this laudable objectives for
many years pass now, most town unions and their branches within the
country and those in diasporas have to a great extent been abusing these
privileges and some had in the recent time became high-jacked by some
undesirable elements in the affected communities who now use same as
instrument to create and perpetrate deep inequality, molestations,
intimidations, extortions, unproductive group dynamics, dirty religious,
traditional and cultural politics, misrepresentation of the youths and
women, embezzlement of community development funds and thereby
under-developing the affected communities. Such nefarious activities and
escapades have proved in the affected communities that town unionism
have now been turned into instrument of gangsterism which some self
centered set of individuals use to high-jack the affected communities
and pursue their selfish course. It has come to a point in the affected
communities that any other socio-cultural union or association is
declared illegitimate by the existing town unions, thereby putting and
enforcing measures to choke the interest of other unions and
associations in the affected communities, contrary to the constitutional
rights of others to freedom of association and peaceful assemble as
guaranteed under section 40 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria which your Government is under oath of allegiance to
enforce and protect. Some victims of the nefarious escapades of some
town unions have as groups, families and individual taken such town
unions to the Law Courts on cases ranging from massive violations and
abuses of human rights, threats to lives and properties and for so many
other related causes of actions, most of such cases are often won in the
Law Courts by these victims against the town unions. These lugubrious
developments have put affected communities in the State in tacit and
unnoticeable anarchy.
The Illegitimacy Of Town Unions To Govern Autonomous Communities
Your Excellency, there is no constitutional provision in the 1999
constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that town unions should
be the governing and developmental body of any autonomous community in
Nigeria. The activities and operations of town unions as regards any
form of sole governance and development in our autonomous communities
are categorically illegitimate and leaves much to be desired. They are
mere interest groups in our communities whose interests, activities and
operations must be strictly checkmated by the ruling constitutional
State Government in order to prevent them from constituting hidden
nuisance and threat to other lawful associations and social assemblies
in the affected communities. They should as a matter of legality, be
exclusively excluded in any capacity, from the purported legitimate
governance and enforcement of by-laws that must govern any autonomous
community, more especially if and when most of their trustees are
usually dominated by ill-exposed and self centered elements of the
affected communities.
The Need For The Creation Of Community Development Assembly
Your Excellency, to meet up with fast increasing expanding and
growing development in our world today and in Anambra State in
particular, ignited by the contemporary, inevitable developmental and
implementable initiates, there is an urgent need to create Community
Development Assembly in our autonomous communities that will have
receptive and compliant environment to meet the modern trend in
community governance. The human race is taking a firm grip on the need
for proper recognition, representation and relevance, this can only be
achieved in an environment where there is stability and productive
dynamics in governance, especially at grass root level such as
communities. To an appreciable extent, stability and productive dynamics
in governance have been achieved at the Local Government Areas, States
and Federal Government levels, there is also need to actualize such
brand of governance at autonomous community level especially in Anambra
State which has always remain the eye opener and light of the nation. An
avenue for that is the creation and establishment of Community
Development Assembly (CDA) in each community in Anambra State that will
be made up of individuals who will be elected from various units or
villages of each community to be made accountable to the State
government and the communities. The legitimacy to manage the affairs of
governance and development by CDA in our communities will be set out and
certified by the Anambra State House of Assembly passing a Bill for its
creation and defining their modus operandi. The CDA will at the
community level stimulate community democracy, establish the legitimacy
to governance, give room for proper accountability to the ruling
government and the communities, ensure equity, fairness, security,
autonomy, checks and balances and will prepare people at this level for
higher leadership expedition in the future.
Extracts For Community Development Assembly (CDA) – Modus Operandi
(i) The CDA will be headed by a Community Development Coordinator, he
will be assisted by a woman who is the Community Development
Deputy/Vice Coordinator and other community principal officers are to
emerge in the CDA, depending on the number of villages in the community.
The CDA will hold general meetings thrice a year with all the members
of the community, town unions, all registered unions and associations in
the community because they are serving their interests.
(ii) The members of CDA will be elected from the villages that make
up each community, 5 members from each village comprising of at least 2
women. They shall be called Village Representatives. This arrangement
will ensure a balanced and fair representation of villages in each
community. It will eliminate the jamboree like, pandemonium, unorganized
and lack of objectivity in resolution and by-laws making that are not
constitutionally and sound conscience compliance which most town union
meetings are characterized with.
(iii) Each tenure of office shall be for 4 years. Maximum tenure for any elected CDA member is 8 years.
(iv) The CDA will create avenue for community internal revenue
generation. One avenue is through the election of CDA members; all
interested Village Representative candidates must pay a certain non
refundable amount of money to the community to obtain a nomination form
before the election at the village level. The money generated from the
sales of the forms will be added to the Community Development Fund.
(v) Election of Village Representative will be at the village levels
in each village with the community appointing independent election
agents and returning officers to carry out the elections and announce
the results. Elections must be by option A4.
(vi) To ensure free and fair CDA elections, the community appointed
independent election agents and returning officers are to carry out the
election under the supervision of the Anambra State Ministry of Local
Government Areas and Chieftaincy matters or by a team led by the Special
Assistant to the Governor on Community Development Assembly matters.
This provision must not be based on the interest of any registered
existing political party, rather on exclusively and predominantly
development minded individuals in the communities and the communities’
interest.
Conclusion
Your Excellency, having made a sketch presentation of the CDA premise
in this medium, I believe that the effectiveness and productivity which
the establishment and implementation of CDA and its objective in
Anambra State will create and attract National cognizance which will in
turn cause an adoption of it in the Federal Constitution. I thank you
for your favorable consideration in advance based on the perception I
have as regards your personality and leadership prowess.
Your sincerely,
Pastor Ughanze Chukwujekwu U. Nnokwa.
Anambra State. +2348036318860.
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