…BoT holds emergency Congress 2 Jan. 2017

By Francis Sadhere

The Secretary, Board of Trustees of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), a social-cultural apex body in Urhobo land, Chief (Barr.) Victor Otomiewo during the weekend said that UPU is in a mess, adding that the union never held any election that produced the Chief Joe Omene led executive porpotedly held on 2 December 2016.

Otomiewo who spoke to journalist at his chambers in Warri described the purported UPU election election that produce Chief Omene as a charade.

He said Omene did not follow the constitution of the UPU which states that it was only a congress of the UPU that has the powers to dissolve the executive before any election could hold.

He also said that Omene erred when he decided to change the election venue from the UPU house in Ovwiamughe to his compound at Jesse, adding that it was only a Congress that has the powers to change a venue of any UPU election.

The UPU has been embroiled in internal crisis for the past four years now after the demise of the former President General, General Patrick Aziza.

But in a bid to salvage the situation, UPU Board of Trustees has decided to step into the matter by convening an emergency Congress of the UPU schedule to hold on January 2, 2017.

According to Otomiewo, the emergency congress was necessary to resolve the impasse in the national executive of the UPU.

He said, “The constitution allows the Board of Trustee to intervene, mediate between the crisis in the national body of the UPU and every other Urhobo traditional institution. I am sure you all know that there is crisis in the UPU, particular at the national level and the executive level after the death of General Patrick Aziza.”

Otomiewo revealed that the alleged caretaker committee put in place by the Urhobo Traditional Council was dead on arrival, saying they do not have the powers to set up any such caretaker committee for the UPU.

“The Ivies (traditional rulers) in their bid to intervene set up a caretaker committee, which was dead on arrival because they have no power under the constition to do what they did at that time – having not been properly and legally advised.

Otomiewo who lamented that UPU is in a terrible mess stressed that they crisis facing the UPU was as a result of the involvement of the President General in partisan politics, a situation he described as very appauling.

He said, “Because the people leading the caretaker committee were seeking their own personal agenda, they started patronizing government offices seeking for relevance instead of trying to resolve the matter. The matter later went to court and it was half hazardly resolved. But it did not bring peace in the embattled UPU.

“And that was the situation until December 2nd 2016 when Chief Joe Omene led executive porpotedly organized an election in which he said he was elected in his own compound as the President General of UPU.

“That election definitely did not meet the requirements of the constitution of the UPU and so therefore it is no election at all. And because the Joe Omene led executive expired on that 2nd and there was no election after that, that place has become vacant and therefore the Board of Trustee has to intervene.

“For the avoidance of doubt, our intervention on that 2nd January 2017 is to convoc a Congress to resolve that impasse. An election is not yet an agenda, excerpt the Congress so approve on that day. The Board of Trustees cannot on their own say they are organizing a new election.”

The BoT of the UPU, according to Otomiewo, is the highest decision making organ in Urhobo land just like the British Parliament. Membership of the BoT is for life.