Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has announced plans to overhaul the state’s grassroots governance system through a new Community Administration Law aimed at ending leadership disputes and factionalism in communities.
Soludo announced the plan on the occasion of the presentation of certificates of recognition to two newly selected traditional rulers, Chief John Nzekwesili Nweke of Nsugbe and Chief Aethelbirth Muoka of Adazi-Nnukwu, at the Light House in Awka, the state capital.
The governor said the proposed legislation would replace the current system, in which communities are largely administered through voluntary town unions registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, a structure he said had contributed to rival factions, leadership disputes and prolonged court cases.
READ ALSO: Anambra Governor Celebrates Nnewi Monarch at 100
According to Soludo, the absence of a clearly defined institutional framework for community administration has made grassroots leadership particularly vulnerable to factionalism.
He said the proposed law would establish a more structured and unified system of community governance as part of his administration’s bottom-up development strategy.
Soludo said stronger and more cohesive community institutions were essential to sustainable grassroots development and would help position Anambra communities for greater visibility on the global stage.
Presenting the certificates, the governor urged the two monarchs to serve as impartial fathers to their communities, embracing both supporters and critics and working to reconcile divisions.
He acknowledged that opposition to leadership was inevitable but charged the traditional rulers to make every effort to maintain peace in their respective domains.
“Permanent peace is a non-negotiable prerequisite for grassroots development,” Soludo said, while calling on established traditional rulers to guide and mentor the new monarchs.”
According to a statement signed by Christian Aburime, the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, the two monarchs are the first traditional rulers to be formally recognised during Soludo’s second term, following the recognition of 12 traditional rulers in his first tenure.
Soludo said their emergence followed due process, beginning with selection at the community level, proceeding through the relevant local government authorities and culminating in final approval by the state government.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs, Barr. Ifeanyi Ezeaka, said the two traditional rulers had undergone the required selection process and legal procedures before receiving state recognition.
The ceremony was witnessed by the Chairman of the Anambra State Traditional Rulers’ Council, Igwe Chidubem Iweka, the Presidents-General of Nsugbe and Adazi-Nnukwu, and other community stakeholders.
The newly recognised monarchs pledged to work toward reconciling their people, strengthening unity and promoting lasting peace in their respective communities.
