COMMUNITY leaders of Amafor, Ugbawka, Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State, have rejected the balkanisation of the community under the guise of creating another autonomous community.

The leaders frown on what they described as the “Concerned Amafor Ugbawka Stakeholders” secret manipulations and surreptitious creation of a new autonomous community to be known as  Umuisu autonomous community.

They also rejected the enthronement of a new king, called Igwe for the so-called autonomous community.

In a letter to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, which our correspondent sighted on Tuesday, signed by Ferdinand Nwodo, Sunday Okonkwo and 29 others representing various clans, the leaders begged the governor not to balkanise the community to ensure peace and tranquility in Ugbawka community.

Part of the letter titled, ‘Save our community from destruction’, stated, “We, the undersigned, for ourselves and on behalf of the peace-loving people of Amafor Ugbawka Autonomous community; and especially the immediate inhabitants of Umuisu and Umukwesiri villages, hereby write to intimate Your Excellency of the palpable tension that now pervades our community especially since Wednesday, December 16, 2020, when we woke up to behold the unsavoury news of the balkanisation of a once harmonious community in the name of a creation of Umuisu autonomous community.

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“We hereby inform Your Excellency that at no time did our people aspire to be created into an independent autonomous community away from our kits and kin in the Amafor Ugbawka autonomous community.

The whole shenanigan and all the manipulations that preceded this misfortune is the handiwork of one upstart, Mr. Sunday Nwobodo, (a.k.a Aka Ekpuchi Onwa), flaunting his unflattering nouveau rich status and in his desire to create a fiefdom for himself.

“He has gone ahead to constitute an inauguration committee for his installation as the traditional ruler of the same putative community in circumstances that divest the people of any participation in the process.”

When Sunday Nwobodo was contacted on telephone, he declined comment.