Crisis is brewing in Ihite Community in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State following the announcement of a date for the community’s new yam festival amid a pending dispute over the traditional throne.
Chief Timothy Okwudiri Ifurunwa was installed as the traditional ruler of the community in January this year after he was issued a certificate of recognition by the Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo.
Before his installation, members of the Ihite Traditional Council, the body saddled with the responsibility of selecting the traditional ruler, had rejected the selection process, alleging that they were sidelined and that a fake council was used to carry out the exercise.
They subsequently challenged the selection in court and secured an order annulling and setting aside the coronation pending the determination of all matters before the court concerning the selection.
Last week, Ifurunwa announced the Ihejioku Ihite 2026 Festival, the community’s new yam festival, scheduled to hold on September 29, 2026.
The announcement has angered members of the sidelined traditional council, who insist that with the traditional stool still the subject of litigation, the disputed monarch has no right to fix a date for the festival.
Speaking through their lawyer, N.I. Onyeakpa (Esq.), the council petitioned the Anambra State Governor through the Commissioner for Local Government, Town Union and Chieftaincy Affairs, Barr. Vin Ezeaka, and the Commissioner of Police, Anambra State, CP Nnanna Oji Ama, seeking a halt to the event to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
The petition, which was made available to our correspondent, included an invitation card for the proposed new yam festival and a court order from the State High Court, Umunze, setting aside Ifurunwa’s coronation. It called on the state government and the Anambra State Police Command to intervene to prevent an impending crisis in the community.
In the letter, Onyeakpa said: “It is our brief that our clients are members of Ihite Traditional Council, selected by various villages making up Ihite during the time of H.R.H. Igwe B.O. Ofu Eze Amama I of Ihite. Since his demise in 2020, our clients, in compliance with the subsisting Chieftaincy Constitution of Ihite, continued performing traditional functions of the town, including announcing dates for the new yam festival.
“We are unhappy that the President-General of the community, Mr George Madu, and some cabals in the town unilaterally amended the Chieftaincy Constitution of the town, without due process, and pronounced Mr Timothy Okwudiri Ifurunwa as the Igwe-elect of the town.
“The crux of this petition is to call your attention to the fact that the status of Igwe in Council of Ihite is a subject matter of litigation in Suit No. HOS/47/2024, yet Okwudiri Ifurunwa is parading fake people as members of Ihite Traditional Council, performing the duties of our clients, who are the authentic members of the Ihite Traditional Council of the town, until contrary is proved.
“Furthermore, the action of Okwudiri Ifurunwa fixing September 29, 2026, as the date for Ihejioku and New Yam Festival, when the subject matter and proper people to perform the function are pending in court, amounts to disrespect, and such action is supposed to be condemned by your office.
“In light of the above, we are aware that matters of this nature are within the jurisdiction of your office as Chief Security Officer of the state to call Ifurunwa to order to avoid a breakdown of law and order.
“Moreover, we are calling on you to use your good office to condemn the action and direct Okwudiri Ifurunwa and his collaborators to respect the rule of law and stop further moves on the proposed New Yam Festival fixed for September 29, 2026, until the decision of the High Court on that matter.”
The Chairman of the Ihite Traditional Council, Chief Sir Dominic Ahamkaoye, and an illustrious son of the community, High Chief Sampson Ikechukwu Okoli, who spoke to journalists in separate interviews, questioned why the Anambra State Government had not stopped Ifurunwa.
They alleged that Ifurunwa was currently taxing villages to sponsor the New Yam Festival despite the ongoing dispute over his status as the traditional ruler.
