By Our Correspondent
The leadership crisis rocking the Amichi Development Union (ADU) has deepened following allegations that the Anambra State Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Mr Vin Ifeanyi Ezeaka, unlawfully extended the tenure of the union’s President-General, Mr Cletus Udebuani.
The aggrieved members, in a statement titled “Statement of Facts: Amichi Development Union (ADU) Leadership Dispute,” appealed to the Anambra State Governor, Mr Chukwuma Charles Soludo, to caution the commissioner and ensure that the provisions of the union’s constitution and a subsisting court order are respected.
The dispute reportedly dates back to the 2022 election of the President-General of the ADU, following which some aggrieved members instituted a suit challenging the outcome.
According to the statement, the legal action was instituted despite the Anambra State Government having earlier certified Udebuani as President-General of the union.
The group said on July 21, 2026 the court issued an interlocutory order directing the parties to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the substantive suit or the vacation of the order.
It said the order specifically restrained the plaintiffs and Udebuani from assuming or occupying the office of President-General, while also barring the Registered Trustees of the union and other parties from conducting a fresh election into the office pending the determination of the case.
The group further cited the constitution of the ADU, which, according to it, provides for a four-year, non-renewable tenure for the President-General.
It said the constitution contains no provision for extending the tenure, retaining an outgoing president in office, or establishing a caretaker arrangement.
Rather, the group claimed, the constitution empowers the Registered Trustees to take interim control of the union’s affairs whenever there is a leadership crisis or vacancy.
The controversy escalated on August 7, 2026, one day after Udebuani’s four-year tenure was said to have expired.
The group alleged that Commissioner Ezeaka issued a letter purporting to extend Udebuani’s tenure until the next adjourned court date in 2027, in negation of Anambra State Government law by the Commissioner which states that Government intervention in any community affairs must be in accordance with the community’s Constitution
According to the statement, the extension was made without consultation with the Registered Trustees of the union.
The group argued that the commissioner’s directive was inconsistent with both the subsisting court order and the ADU constitution.
It maintained that the court’s status quo order could not be interpreted as conferring a fresh right on an office holder whose constitutionally prescribed tenure had expired.
“A status quo order preserves the existing legal rights as they stand; it does not grant new rights or extend a fixed constitutional term limit,” the statement said.
The group also cited the principle arising from judicial decisions, including Ladoja v. INEC, arguing that the continued occupation of an office under a status quo arrangement relates to an existing and unexpired tenure and cannot automatically create a new tenure after the constitutional term has elapsed.
It consequently accused the commissioner of executive interference, arguing that an administrative directive from a ministry could not override either a subsisting court order or the binding provisions of the registered constitution of the union.
The group said that with Udebuani’s tenure having elapsed on August 6, 2026 the Registered Trustees were prepared to assume responsibility for the interim management of the union in accordance with the ADU constitution.
It added that the Registered Trustees would convene an Emergency General Assembly to address the leadership vacuum and determine the way forward for the union.
The group therefore appealed to Governor Soludo to intervene by cautioning Commissioner Ezeaka and directing that the matter be handled in accordance with the court order and the constitution of the Amichi Development Union.
The development is expected to further intensify the legal and administrative dimensions of the long-running leadership dispute within the community union.
