Prince Kingsley Nkume, left and HRH, Eze Otuwa


The Abia State Boundary Committee headed by the Deputy Governor, Engr Ikechukwu Emetu has declared Ikwuano LGA as the landlord of the land where Government College, Umuahia is sited. 

The declaration is the settlement judgement of the much contested boundary dispute between Ikwuano LGA and  Umuahia North LGA (Lodu Ndume Ibeku Community).

At the sitting  which was a follow-up to a previous one held on  February 24,  2025, Ikwuano LG was represented by the Executive Chairman, Dr. Anthony Nwaubani; HRH, Eze Emmanuel Otuwa, the traditional ruler of Amaoba Ime Autonomous Community and Prince Kingsley Nkume, a community leader. 

The Ikwuano  delegation in their presentations, supported with maps and annextures  maintained that Amaoba community owns all the land housing  Government College Umudike, and extending to a point  in the nearby Timber Market. 

 The committee whose core objective was to  ascertain this claim and thus decide who was the donor of the entire land housing Government College,  Umudike thereafter came up with their finding which formed the basis for the judgment. 

After the presentations, the Deputy Governor directed the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Abia State to address all present on the findings of the Committee. The Attorney-General summarized their findings from documents presented by each claimant and submitted that Ikwuano LGA overwhelmingly proved their claims that the people of Amaoba Ime  were the actual donors of the entire land being contested and therefore recommended that government should do the needful by publishing the ruling. 

Also present at the final sitting were representatives from the nearby Olokoro clan, in Umuahia South LGA while Lodu Ndume people were conspicuously absent. The Deputy Governor thereafter directed the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice to draft a communique to be signed by all, which he will thereafter send to the Governor for endorsement and gazzetting. He thereafter directed the Executive Chairman of Umuahia North, Hon Smart  Iheoma to prevail on his people of  Ndume to cease forthwith from any further encroachment on the land and to maintain peace. 

It could be recalled that in the hearing of  February 24, 2025, the Ikwuano delegation laid the foundation  for their claims with maps and annextures, which contained overwhelming proof that the land actually belonged to Ikwuano while Umuahia North made only oral claim.  After studying the document in juxtaposition with the  presentation of other claimants, the committee made its decision.