A man by the name, Celestine Ugwu has called on the general public and those concerned to come to his aid over plans by what he termed a ‘political jobber’ to acquire what legally belonged to him, Njenje Media News reports.
In an SOS he wrote and made available to Njenje Media News, the man who is from Udenu Local Government In Enugu State accused one Mr. Ikechukwu Ugwuanyi (a.k.a Odumodu) from Obollo-Etiti from the same Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State of trying to use untoward means to take over his private park.
Read below his SOS:
NOW THEY ARE AFTER MY BUSINESS; MR. UGWU CELESTINE(POPULARLY KNOWN AS AYIGBO) CRY OUT FOR HELP OVER A PLOT TO TAKE OVER HIS LEGITIMATE ACQUIRED BUSINESS(PRIVATE PARK)
(A True life story)
HAPPENING IN UDENU LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN ENUGU STATE.
The negative effects of the rampaging novel coronavirus disease is one that have left many persons within families, states, and even countries stranded. The impact is felt more in the economic sector where even as the government was forced to introduce total lockdown to mitigate its effects, the continued fall in the value of the naira and astronomical increases in the prices of goods and services in the market have continued to characterize the system months after it was lifted. In Families, parents who are the breadwinners struggle to feed their children and provide for them other essential necessities.
Such is the situation Mr. Celestine Ugwu, Mr. Maduka Abonyi and Mr. Chidozie Wisdom found themselves and are fighting to come out of it like every other person. Before the pandemic even broke out, Mr. Celestine Ugwu particularly has been finding life very difficult. He is a married average man with many children who have been toiling day and night to earn a living by selling horses at the popular Obollo Afor market in Udenu local govt in Enugu state, Nigeria. He struggled to make out a living selling these animals and as his business continued to suffer significant losses due to the risk of Boko Haram Insurgency ravaging the North where he purchases these Animals for sale, he, along with his two other friends decided to change their line of businesses for a safer one.
According to him after our interview with him on 11/9/2021, What began as a dream come true in 2015 for the trio Mr. Celestine Ugwu (popularly known as Ayigbo), who hails from Amutenyi Autonomous Community in Obollo Afọr, Mr. Maduka Abonyi from Obollo-Etiti, and Mr. Chidozie Wisdom from Ezimo all under the local political administration of Udenu local government area of Enugu State has turned sour recently following the threats of attack, as well as plot to take over all they have worked for over the years by a certain man called Mr. Ikechukwu Ugwuanyi (a.k.a Odumodu). Odumodu hails from Obollo-Etiti under the same Udenu local government area of Enugu state. Mr. Ikechukwu Ugwuanyi according to findings is a political jobber marauding as a revenue-point allocation owner in the local council area. He claims that a registered business location which was nothing before 2015, and discovered and built by Mr. Celestine Ugwu and his co-founders that same year has suddenly in 2021 become his as it has been given to him by the current Chairman of Udenu local government area.
The Local government council under the leadership of (Hon.Solomon Onah ) is one which has before now done so much to better a lot of the people in the area.
Just like his predecessors before him, he has been adopting and utilizing the democratic agendas of Gov. Lawrence Ifeanyichukwu Ugwuanyi’s administration (the executive governor of Enugu state) and has done so much in the area of economic empowerment, provision of social infrastructure, agriculture, education, and health services. Due to his past antecedents of being a people’s and social development oriented leader, he is not known for such Injustice or such Unlawful deals as we believe that he may not even be aware of all that is happening under his territory/administration. it is however disappointing that the like of Mr. Ikechukwu Ugwuanyi will because of his sheer greed for money and fame tread the path of trying to forcefully take over someone’s legal business; all because of political patronage which will not only rubbish the local government administration giant strides on development so far but engrain it too into the sand of history as a repeat of Ahab-Nabooth biblical story in Udenu local government area.
We all know how it ends. it doesn’t end well.
According to official documents made available to our Reporter which is attached to this Publication, Mr. Celestine Ugwu and his two other co-founders registered a joint transportation company with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) called CCM Private Loading Park LTD. The date according to the document was on the 17th day of April 2016. Meanwhile, before registering the company with the Corporate Affairs Commission in that year 2016, the investors had sought approval using official means to operate a transportation company within the local government area in the year 2015. The exact location noted in the letter seeking approval to establish and operate the company was along the Enugu-Makurdi expressway, precisely at along Apo in Obollo Afọr. Thereafter, on the 16th day of December 2015, a letter of approval signed by the secretary of the former chairman of Udenu local government area (Barr. Okey Agbo) on behalf of the former chairman (Barr. Amaechi Nwodo) approved for the park and the operations of the company with a levy of seventy thousand naira (#70,000) per annum.
Again, according to official documents in our possession, the company has consistently remitted the stipulated amount levied into the coffer of successive local government administrations since 2015 when the permission for the operation of the company was approved to date. For the record, there have been four successive local government administrations since 2015 to date; The Barr. Amaechi Nwodo’s regime, followed by Dr. Prince Ignatius Odo, Hon. Frank Ugwu and they never violated or tampered with the arrangement and agreement made in 2015 over the park or the business. The current administration seems to be indifferent to that. And, one would ask, why is this particular business venue the only one that they want to unjustly take away from the owners after terming the premises revenue collection points for the local government as there are other private vehicle parks and companies operating in Obollo Afor and nothing of such has happened to them?
Again, if this park is owned by SAM Maduka Onyishi (Peace Mass transit limited ) or Ifesinachi motors, Royale mass transit etc will this move by the elements of the local government be the same? In all honesty, other companies like Peace Mass Transit Ltd, Royal Mass Transit, Eastern Gateway Mass Transit, etc. have been operating in those areas for many years and this kind of ill-treatment has not been heard of.
The Bone of Contention
In 2015 when the approval letter was signed and sent to the company owners, their business kicked off successfully and as was expected grew with time. The founders decided to expand their business by renting spacious plots of land that is opposite their park in order to use it for packing their transport vehicles and then use the other premises for loading of passengers and goods. The packing space rightfully belonged to Mr. Benjamin Odo (popularly known as Adekunle) which he paid 30000 per year in the same lane with their loading park space belonging to Mr. Everestus Mbah. Meanwhile, Mr. Celestine Ugwu (the transport company co-founder) rented the parking space from Mr. Celestine Mbah who hails from Imilike which he pay 200000 Per year. There are documents showing proofs of land leasing agreements and receipts of land rent fees of #200,000 per annum paid to the landlord since the year 2015 when the business took off.
However, on the 16th day of January 2021, a mob made up of hoodlums loyal to Mr. Ikechukwu Ugwuanyi came to demolish the business premises of the company, which resulted in destroying party of the properties and transport vehicles worth millions of naira. They also assaulted, scattered the workers and passengers on the process according to Mr.Celestine Ugwu, Celestine Ugwu having been tipped off earlier that day by an anonymous person about the impending danger escaped before they could arrive at the business premises and went straight to the Area Command Orba to report the incident which the case was handled by a Police officer called Chukwu Chukwu Emezie.
Acting in their professional capacity, the police division responded to the distress call swiftly and was able to apprehend Some of the hoodlums who were led by Odumodu himself (Mr. Ikechukwu Ugwuanyi) while the rest ran away. The arrested demolishers/mobsters were remanded in police custody while the investigation continued. However, just a few hours into the police investigation of the matter, the Divisional Police Officer released the Arrested apprehended hoodlums citing direct instructions from the Power that Controls the center which mandated him to release them without delay. Mr. Ikechukwu Ugwuanyi (Odumodu) subsequently came forward and laid claim to the company’s rented parking space claiming that it is a revenue point that has been allocated to him by the local government council administration.
Dissatisfied with the police handling of the matter and the unfounded claim leveled by the mobilizer and leader of the mobsters (Mr. Ikechukwu Ugwuanyi) who appears to be fully into the business of using those in the corridor of power to snatch successful businesses out of their rightful owners, Mr. Celestine Ugwu took the matter to the Magistrate Court Enugu for judgment.
The court immediately served him (Mr. Ikechukwu Ugwuanyi) an interim order restricting him from tampering with the said Park until an investigation is completed and judgment is decided on the case. Barrs. Akọ Akor and Abel are the legal aides representing him in the case.
The matter was subsequently referred to a higher court (Federal High Court) as the case was bigger for the Magistrate Court to adjudicate. This move technically rendered the interim order already served to Mr. Ikechukwu Ugwuanyi by the Magistrate Court ineffective. At the High Courts first sitting, the matter was mentioned and an Alternative Dispute Resolution team in Obollo Afor known as Multy Door court (Mediation) made of distinguished persons and legal luminaries located at Nsukka pleaded that they may be allowed to wade into the matter and the matter be settled outside the court. The court and the complainant agreed to settle the case outside the court on the conviction that justice will prevail and, peace and normalcy will be restored after that. But in the process of settling the matter outside the court as they pleaded and the petitioner agreed to, they made the decision of mandating the complainant in the matter to go and invite the local government council chairman to the meeting which in its entirety is not within his call of duty to do something.
Again, spurious claims were made by the defendant Mr. Ikechukwu Ugwuanyi that as long as he is with the Chairman of the local government, that he will take the park from Mr. Celestine Ugwu (the company founder and park tenant) who is the landlord of the park Mr. Everestus Mbah is solidly behind and recognizes as the right tenant who has been paying his rent for many years.
As it stands now, the case is still lingering and the defendant Mr. Ikechukwu Ugwuanyi (Odumodu) is still parading himself as the owner of the park claiming that he is the rightful owner since the local government chairman has purportedly allocated the place to him. Meanwhile, the rightful owners’ business deteriorates as days go by. Mr. Celestine Ugwu is humbly calling on the general public, private persons, all concerned stakeholders of Udenu local government area, Civil Liberty Groups, stakeholders of Enugu state government ably led by the Workaholic Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) Enugu state command, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, The Directors Enugu State Board of Internal Revenue, The Board of Directors Enugu State Transport Company, the state Commander Federal Roads Safety Corps, and other Non-Governmental Organisations to wade into the matter and save him from the gross injustice being meted out against him by these unruly elements using the local government authority to violate the economic rights and privileges of law abiding citizens like himself. In a just society, no one or group is allowed to thrive in the act of putting suffering into the lives of others by forcefully snatching their means of livelihood away for no just cause other than clandestine motives that are fueled by greed. Again, no one is above the law of the land. Justice has to be served under the ambiance of the principles of the rule of law.
As Ghandi rightly noted, Justice denied one is tantamount to justice denied to all. Please, lend your voice and services any way you can to save these families from hardship and possible extermination.
The attached documents are.
- Mr.Ugwu Celestine Picture.
2.His Company certificate registered with CAC.
3. The Approval he got from the local govt chairman to start operating his private business Motor park.
4. And also the Annual levy receipts he has been paying every year.
