The Asaba Development Union (ADU) Worldwide has strongly condemned what it described as an attempt to convert the Asaba Memorial Centre, built in honour of victims of the 1967 Asaba Massacre, into private property.
The umbrella body representing the Asaba community accused former Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, of trying to appropriate the memorial facility through claims made by his campaign organisation that he “owns” the Asaba Massacre Memorial Centre.
In a statement jointly signed by the President-General of ADU Worldwide, Ogbueshi C.C. Ashiogwu, and the Chairman of the Asaba Memorial Trust Fund, Chief Chuck Nduka-Eze, the community described the claim as “a manifest outrage” and an attempt to usurp a monument built with public funds to preserve the memory of victims of war.
The statement was issued in response to a publication by the Ndudi Elumelu Campaign Organisation reacting to an earlier advertorial by the Asaba Memorial Trust Fund.
According to the ADU, those currently speaking on behalf of Elumelu lacked firsthand knowledge of the discussions and agreements reached between the former lawmaker and the Asaba community regarding the development of the memorial centre.
The union recalled that Elumelu had publicly presented the project as a tribute to Asaba indigenes who were brutally killed during the Nigerian Civil War and as a gesture of appreciation to the community for its longstanding support for his political career.
“Asaba people embraced and celebrated the project because it represented remembrance, healing, historical preservation, and respect for innocent lives lost during the massacre,” the statement said.
The community, however, expressed shock that the same project was now allegedly being treated as a personal asset.
“That Hon. Ndudi Elumelu facilitated a project does not amount to owning it,” the statement declared, accusing the former lawmaker’s camp of resorting to “cyber-intimidation, propaganda, emotional blackmail and attempts to gaslight an entire community into silence.”
The ADU further alleged that after resistance from the community over the politicisation of the monument, the facility was reportedly donated by Elumelu to a political pressure group linked to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through the President’s son, Seyi Tinubu.
It described the alleged move as morally troubling, questioning how a monument dedicated to victims of a massacre could become associated with political activities and patronage.
The statement also rejected claims that the Asaba people were opposed to President Tinubu or his re-election, insisting that raising concerns over the ownership and use of the memorial should not be interpreted as hostility toward the President.
“Supporting a President does not mean surrendering our heritage, nor does it require silence when sacred public symbols are converted into political assets,” the statement added.
The ADU maintained that the Asaba Massacre remains a painful chapter in the history of the community and should never be reduced to campaign material or personal political property.
The group vowed to pursue all legal and legitimate means to reclaim the monument, insisting that available documents show clearly that the memorial belongs to the Asaba people.
“We will not allow anybody, no matter how highly placed, to subvert our history for personal political advantage,” the statement concluded.
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