By Izunna Okafor, Awka
The leadership of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Anambra State Chapter, has strongly countered the statement issued by the Anambra State Commissioner for Youth Development, Hon. Patrick Agha Mba, insisting that the Commissioner lacks the constitutional authority to impose a leader on the Council or determine its internal leadership structure.
Reacting to the Commissioner’s statement in which he declared one Comrade Surveyor Emeka Obi as the “legitimate and recognised” Chairman of NYCN Anambra State; the NYCN, in a detailed rejoinder signed by its Acting State Chairman, Comrade Godwin U. Okoye, on Friday, described the Commissioner’s assertion as false, misleading, and a gross overreach on the part of the Ministry of Youth Development.
According to the NYCN, there is a fundamental distinction between the National Youth Council of Nigeria — a statutory national body backed by its own constitution, national leadership, and internal electoral processes — and any other youth association created by the Anambra State Government or supervised under its Ministry. For this reason, the Council maintained that neither the Commissioner nor the Ministry has the authority to determine who leads the NYCN in Anambra State.
“The Honourable Commissioner cannot singlehandedly impose or determine the leadership of the NYCN in Anambra State. The National Youth Council of Nigeria operates under its own constitution, National leadership, and electoral procedures. Any attempt to interfere or redefine its leadership within the state falls outside the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Youth Development,” the statement partly read.
NYCN further clarified that Comrade Emeka Obi, whom the Commissioner attempted to affirm as Chairman, was expelled at the NYCN National Congress held on 21st September 2025, and which was subsequently ratified by the National Executive Council (NEC).
By that expulsion, the Council stressed that “Emeka Obi is thereby no longer a member of the Council and cannot be imposed by the Commissioner or anyone as the State Chairman of NYCN, Anambra State Chapter.”
An attached copy of the Congress decision, according to the group, further validates Obi’s expulsion. It therefore maintained that the authentic leadership of the NYCN in Anambra State remains under Comrade Godwin Ugochukwu Okoye, a leadership it says is focused on championing youth development in alignment with Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo’s transformation agenda.
The group also faulted the Commissioner’s claim that individuals were “erroneously claiming to have replaced” Emeka Obi, asserting that such statement is misleading and deliberately undermines the constitutional provisions that govern the Council’s leadership nationwide. It accused the Commissioner of attempting to cause confusion and unnecessary tension within the youth constituency through what it described as “blatant disregard for the NYCN constitution.”
“We therefore urge the Honourable Commissioner to maintain the limits of his office and avoid actions or statements capable of causing confusion, institutional conflict, or unnecessary tension among Anambra youths,” the group warned.
It added that at a time when Governor Soludo is working tirelessly to promote peace, stability, and youth participation in governance, the Commissioner’s attempt to impose leadership is capable of derailing these efforts and creating friction where none should exist.
While reassuring the public of its commitment to peace and due process, the NYCN Anambra called on youths and stakeholders across the state to disregard the Commissioner’s statement, describing it as unconstitutional, misleading, and an attempt to distort the true leadership structure of the Council in the state.
