Ihite Igweship Crisis Deepens as Traditional Council Urges Soludo, Police to Stop New Yam Festival

By Our Reporter

Tension is mounting in Ihite Community, Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State, over the proposed 2026 new yam festival, with members of the Ihite Traditional Council calling on the state government and police to halt the event pending the resolution of an ongoing legal dispute over the community’s traditional stool.

The controversy followed the announcement of September 29, 2026, as the date for the Ihejioku Ihite 2026 Festival, described as the community’s new yam festival, by Chief Timothy Okwudiri Ifurunwa, who was installed as the traditional ruler of Ihite earlier this year.

Ifurunwa received a certificate of recognition from the Anambra State Government under Governor Chukwuma Soludo before his installation.

However, members of the Ihite Traditional Council have continued to challenge the process that produced him, alleging that they were excluded from the selection process and that another group was used in their place.

The council subsequently approached the court and obtained an order from the Anambra State High Court sitting in Umunze, which, according to documents made available to journalists, set aside the coronation pending the determination of matters relating to the selection of the traditional ruler.

The latest development has now heightened tensions in the community, with the council arguing that the disputed monarch should not be fixing dates or performing functions traditionally associated with the Igwe and the Traditional Council while the matter remains before the court.

Through their lawyer, N.I. Onyeakpa, Esq., the council petitioned the Anambra State Government through the Commissioner for Local Government, Town Union and Chieftaincy Affairs, Barr. Vin Ezeaka, as well as the Commissioner of Police, Anambra State, CP Nnanna Oji Ama.

The petition, which was made available to journalists, included an invitation to the proposed new yam festival and a copy of the court order concerning Ifurunwa’s coronation.

The petition urged the authorities to intervene and prevent what the council described as a potential breakdown of law and order.

Onyeakpa said the members of the council had continued to perform traditional functions in accordance with the community’s chieftaincy constitution following the death of the former traditional ruler, His Royal Highness Igwe B.O. Ofu Eze Amama I, in 2020.

According to the lawyer, the council became concerned after the President-General of the community, Mr. George Madu, and others allegedly amended the community’s chieftaincy constitution and proceeded with the process that produced Ifurunwa.

He said the legal dispute over the traditional stool was still pending in Suit No. HOS/47/2024, arguing that the status of the Igwe and the composition of the Traditional Council remained matters before the court.

On the proposed festival, Onyeakpa said:

“The action of Okwudiri Ifurunwa fixing 29 September, 2026 as date for Ihejioku and New Yam Festival, when the subject matter and proper people to perform the function is pending in court, amounts to disrespect.”

He appealed to the state government and police command to intervene, adding:

“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 on 29 September 2026, until the decision of the High Court on that matter.”

The petitioners further alleged that Ifurunwa had been presenting individuals as members of the Ihite Traditional Council and performing functions which they claimed belonged to the council recognised under the community’s existing traditional structures.

They urged the state government, particularly in its capacity as the authority responsible for chieftaincy matters and security, to intervene before the dispute escalates.

The chairman of the Ihite Traditional Council, Chief Sir Dominic Ahamkaoye, and an illustrious son of the community, High Chief Sampson Ikechukwu Okoli, separately expressed concern over the situation.

They questioned why the state government had not intervened in what they described as actions capable of aggravating the dispute. They also alleged that villages were being levied to raise funds for the proposed festival despite the unresolved legal battle over the traditional stool.

The development has therefore placed the proposed September 29 festival at the centre of a wider dispute over traditional authority, with both sides now awaiting the outcome of the ongoing court proceedings.

The dispute is expected to attract further attention as the festival date approaches, particularly if no intervention or court directive is issued before then.

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