The leadership crisis within the Ndokwa Neku Union (NNU) could not have come at a more sensitive moment for the people of the Ndokwa/Ukwuani Federal Constituency.
With the 2027 general elections approaching, political parties and candidates are already beginning to engage communities and socio-cultural organisations. At such a time, the NNU, as the apex socio-cultural organisation representing the interests of Ndokwa people, ought to be providing a united platform through which the people can articulate their demands and negotiate for meaningful political and developmental commitments.
Instead, the union is now caught in an internal leadership dispute that risks distracting attention from the larger interests of the people.
The NNU National Executive Council has announced the suspension of its President-General, Comrade Chief Amaechi Asugwuni, citing allegations including high-handedness, administrative issues and financial mismanagement. The union’s Legal Adviser, Ambrose Egwunatum Esq., has also clarified that the suspension should not be linked to the controversy surrounding the reported engagement with former Delta State Governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa.
There have also been differing accounts of what transpired at the September 19 engagement in Kwale. While some reports described the gathering as an adoption of APC candidates, the NNU Assistant Publicity Secretary, Dr Eze Nathaniel Ossai, subsequently said it was a consultative engagement and that candidates of other political parties should equally have opportunities to engage with the people.
These developments deserve careful attention, but they also call for something more important at this moment: restraint.
This is not the best time for impulsive decisions. Whatever the disagreements within the NNU executive, the consequences of prolonged division will not be confined to those currently involved in the leadership dispute. They could affect the ability of the Ndokwa/Ukwuani Federal Constituency to speak with one voice at a time when political negotiations are becoming increasingly important.
The question before Ndokwa should therefore go beyond who is right or who is wrong in the present disagreement. The more important question is: what serves the long-term political and developmental interests of the people?
The 2027 political season is already taking shape. Candidates will seek meetings, endorsements, support and access to community leaders. Political parties will make their approaches. This is precisely when Ndokwa needs a functional and credible leadership structure capable of sitting across the table with political actors and negotiating for the interests of the people.
It is not the time to create a leadership vacuum that could ultimately weaken the constituency’s ability to negotiate.
And it certainly is not the time to allow internal disagreements to create opportunities for the marginalisation of any section of Ndokwa.
There is nothing wrong with political engagement. In fact, it is necessary.
But engagement must be approached from a position of collective interest rather than individual loyalty.
Ndokwa should be asking every candidate and political party seeking its support: What will you do about our roads? What is your position on electricity? What will you do about employment, education, healthcare, agriculture, industrialisation and economic opportunities? What can you offer in terms of effective representation?
These are the issues that should define the political conversation.
Rather than fighting over who controls the NNU platform, the leadership should be thinking about how that platform can be used to secure commitments from candidates.
It is the time to sit with candidates across political parties, listen to their programmes, present Ndokwa’s demands and obtain clear commitments. If the NNU maintains that it is a non-partisan socio-cultural organisation, then its platform should be sufficiently open to allow competing political interests to engage with the people.
The people should not be asked to surrender their political choices to any individual or faction.
At the same time, the NNU should not surrender the collective bargaining power of Ndokwa to political expediency.
The Earlier Full Leadership Returns, the Better. At Ndokwa Reporters, our position is that the present leadership dispute should be handled strictly through the constitution of the NNU and established procedures.
The allegations against the suspended President-General should be properly examined, and he should be given the opportunity to respond. Allegations remain allegations until they are established through the appropriate process.
But while that process is taking place, Ndokwa cannot afford to remain politically distracted.
The earlier the full leadership of the NNU is back on ground and the organisation returns to normal functioning, the better for the people.
That does not mean that legitimate grievances should be ignored or that accountability should be sacrificed for the sake of temporary peace. It means that disagreement should not be allowed to destroy the institution through which the people hope to pursue common interests.
If there are constitutional disagreements, let the constitution speak. If there are financial questions, let the appropriate organs examine them. If there are disagreements over political engagement, let the union establish clear and transparent rules for consultations.
But let the organisation remain functional. Do Not Create a Vacuum for Others to Fill. History and politics teach a simple lesson: when an organised group creates a vacuum, somebody else will eventually occupy the space.
Ndokwa cannot afford such a situation at this critical stage.
The Federal Constituency has its own challenges and its own interests. Its people need political leaders who can effectively negotiate for development, regardless of which party eventually wins an election.
The NNU therefore needs to return quickly to its primary responsibility: uniting the people, articulating their interests and negotiating with those seeking their support.
The 2027 election will eventually come and go. Political candidates will win or lose. Political parties will rise and fall. But Ndokwa will remain.
That is why the interests of the people must be placed above temporary political disagreements. A Time for Unity and Strategic Engagement. This is a time for Ndokwa leaders to lower the temperature. It is a time for dialogue rather than confrontation. It is a time for negotiation rather than political warfare.
It is a time to bring every legitimate stakeholder to the table and find a pathway that protects the integrity of the NNU while ensuring that the organisation remains capable of representing the collective interests of the people.
Nobody should mistake the call for unity for a call to abandon accountability. And nobody should mistake the demand for accountability for permission to destroy the unity of the organisation.
Ndokwa needs both accountability and unity. It needs both responsible leadership and an effective platform for political negotiation.
Above all, it needs leaders who understand that the NNU is bigger than any individual, faction, candidate or political party.
The people of Ndokwa/Ukwuani deserve an NNU that can sit with every candidate, interrogate every promise, negotiate for development and demand accountability.
This is not the time to fight. This is the time to negotiate.
This is not the time to create a vacuum. This is the time to restore full leadership.
And this is not the time for impulsive decisions that may have consequences far beyond the present dispute.
The earlier Ndokwa’s leadership puts its house in order, returns the NNU to full and legitimate functioning, and begins negotiating collectively with candidates and political parties, the better it will be for the people and the future of the Federal Constituency.
