COMMUNIQUÉ ISSUED AFTER GENERAL MEETING OF ORLU TOWN DEVELOPMENT UNION (OTDU) IN WHICH A DELEGATION OF THE BISHOP OF THE ORLU CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF ORLU, BISHOP AUGUSTINE UKWUOMA COMPRISING INDIGENOUS PRIESTS WERE PRESENT, AT ORLU CIVIC CENTER, OCTOBER 20,2025
Arising from a 4-hour general meeting of the Orlu Town Development Union (OTDU) held at Orlu community civic center on October 20, 2025, where the community deliberated, among other issues, on the circumstances surrounding the secret handover of the land that once housed the Imo State Polytechnic(Orlu campus) to the Catholic Diocese of Orlu, and the actions of some of our brothers who went to court to stop further activities on the said land.
During the meeting, it was observed that the Bishop of the Diocese sent a delegation made up mainly of Catholic priests who were in attendance to plead that the land be given to the Church. They were duly given the opportunity to address the general house. After they spoke, the people of Orlu responded by rejecting their plea that the land be handed over to the Church.
After extensive deliberations, it was established that the said land is not communal land, but rather owned by five villages, namely: Umuire, Eluama, Ndukabia, Abor and Ndiowerre. It was further affirmed that at no time did the landowners hand over the land to the Church as a gift. Instead, it was confirmed beyond reasonable doubt by the original landowners- many of whom spoke during the meeting- that the land was initially leased to the Irish Missionaries, who in turn paid royalties to the individual landowners.
It was also recalled that the government later took over the premises but before that, the missionaries who used the site as a Teachers’ Training Centre known as Bishop Shanahan Teachers’ Training College (BSTC) had relocated to a neighbouring community, Umuna, Orlu, which is currently the site of the Urban Secondary School, where they continued their activities.
In view of the foregoing, the Orlu Town Development Union (OTDU) resolved as follows:
1. That Orlu Community strongly condemned the clandestine manner in which the said land was handed over to the Church and commended those who approached the court to seek justice over the matter.
2. That the landowners did not donate their lands to the Church. And those behind the move to forcefully acquire the land for the Church should, as a matter of urgency, desist forthwith.
3. That the OTDU should explore all avenues to ensure that Orlu people are no longer shortchanged in terms of development of the community.
4. That the Orlu community is not at war with the Church, but humbly requests that the Church appreciates the community’s past gestures.
5. That most of the lands donated to the Church in the past are now being used for business purposes without any form of special benefit to the host community, contrary to the original intentions of the donors.
6.That Orlu people frown at lack of government presence and urged the government at all levels to extend dividens of democracy to us as obtainable in other communities where apart from infrastructural development, their Sons and Daughters are also considered for appointments.
7. That the OTDU Executive should formally communicate these resolutions to HRH, Eze (Dr.) Patrick Acholonu, the Traditional Ruler of Orlu and other stakeholders in Imo State.
Signed:
Chief Marcel Okereke
Acting President, OTDU
Pastor Okwukweka Uwandu
Publicity Secretary, OTDU
