An 80-year-old woman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Mercy Okoli, Tuesday, led other people of Umueji village, Ufuma, Orumba North local government area of Anambra state to protest alleged taking over of their primary school by a church.
Okoli said Umueji community primary school was built in 1973 on communal land through communal efforts and so, it was improper for government to cede and gazette that the school now belonged to Catholic church without informing the community.
Okoli recalled how the people contributed woods, water, sands, cements and other services, to erect the school for the general good of the community, and implored the government to quickly return the oldest community primary school in the whole of Orumba North, Orumba South and Aguata to them.
Contributing, another community leader, Mr Josiah Okoli, the former chairman of Umueji village, Chief Benson Ilechukwu, and the deputy president general, Ufuma Development Union (UDU), Mr Solomon Umeaba, recalled that contributions towards acquisition of the school land and erecting it was carried out by Christians, atheists, traditionalists, including irreligious people. So, ceding it to any religious group would be resisted.
Mr Charles Onyebueke, who is the chairman, School Base Management Committee (SBMC) of the school, and his counterpart-the chairman, Parents Teachers Association (PTA), Mr. Raymond Ilechukwu, said they were neither informed nor consulted by anyone before the school was handed over to the Catholic church.
“We were informed about the development by someone working in the ministry who spotted the gazetted documents. We applied for it and it was given to us with details showing that it was gazetted this year. We want Governor Soludo to revert this immediately to forestall crisis especially this Christmas our people are returning home. Some may not stomach it and we don’t have security to contain them,” Onyebueke added.
However, a security man, who simply identified himself as Mr. Mba from CSO office, pleaded with the protesters to go home and return next year, January 2023 as he had communicated to the relevant stakeholders about their presence, but none, including the governor, was available to address them.
The protesters rejected the plea and in the process, the member representing them (Orumba North Constituency in Anambra state House of Assembly), Hon. Emeka Afforka, who saw them while driving to the Government House, alighted and assured them that he would communicate their complaints and grievances to the appropriate authorities along with their signed protest letters and placards.
