…Funds Minority Groups To Sustain Protests Against State Government.
Determined to change the newly amended law of the traditional institutions in Akwa ibom state in which the Okuibom Ibibio Nteyin Solomon Etuk has been made the president general of the supreme council of Akwa ibom Traditional rulers for life, the Senate President Chief Godswill Akpabio has allegedly dole out a whooping #100 million in the first instance to cripple the new law.
Akpabio a former Governor of Akwa ibom state from the minority Annang ethnic group is said to be unhappy with the development which appears to have confered more prominence and superiority to his Ibibio neighbors against other minority ethnic groups and vowed to return the system to the status quo which rotational chairmanship of the institution.
Disclosing the information to our Correspondent yesterday, a close confidant of the Senate President who pleaded to remain anonymous said the enraged Senate President has vowed to deploy his weight as number 3 citizen of the country to tackle the matter if the Akwa ibom state government refuses to return to the status quo.
According to our sources, “Heavy mobilisation of people are currently going on in various minority areas of the state like the Annang land, Oro nation, Obollo people and Ibeno land for sustained protests and disruption of activities until government acts by repealing the law”
He further highlighted, “The war chest for a start is a whooping #100 million which is currently being shared across the groups to energies them, the only challenges presently is the sudden volta face from the paramount rulers of Eket and Esit Eket who have been earlier contracted to join the fray with their people to make the protests thick”.
Our Correspondent observed that the sign of what awaits the state came on the back of a series of comments made by the Senate President during the State’s 36th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service where he explicitly stated that all Local Governments in the state are oil producing communities hence there should be no distinction between them in terms of sharing of resources or benefits and also the need for the incumbent Governor, Pastor Umo Eno to repeal the Akwa Ibom Map Bill which has been signed into law.
“Chief Godswill Akpabio at the occasion was simply telling the governor that ‘Service of War Declaration’ was, if you want my collaboration and affinity, these are my terms: Reverse the amended Traditional Rulers Law just passed and assented to; Reverse the Law mapping Akwa Ibom LGAs; sponsor and instigate the NASS to abolish and nullify oil producing status of any Local Government Area in the Niger Delta and let the States remain unilaterally oil producing States; Prompt the NASS through me, to abolish the PIA; Deny your citizenship as an Ibibio man and become an alien.”
Throwing more light, the source said the Senate President was more enraged because he believes that the present law was a brain child of his successor Mr Udom Emmanuel whom he fell out with after handing over the reigns of government to him.
“Akpabio believes that Udom Emmanuel is the architect of the present law and that the incumbent governor Umo Eno is being used to seal a plot which the former Governor hatched before exiting office.
“Therefore he sees the present situation as another opportunity to seek his pound of flesh from his successor who he had a running battle with not minding the damages the current administration may incur in the process.
In the same vein, about 13 paramount rulers mainly from the Annang and Oro axis of the state including Itai Afe Annang have formally petitioned the Senate President Chief Godswill Akpabio, speaker House of representatives and Heads of major security agencies on the Amended Law.
The Paramount rulers alleged manipulations by the state government and state house of Assembly in imposing the law on them without considering thier input.
They further alleged that the government of Former governor Emmanuel called and hinted them of the plan to change the traditional institution structure but gave no further insight nor take any contributions from them.
They prayed for the return to the former rotational chairmanship system of two years each stressing that the current law which provides for president general and chairman remain controversial and unacceptable to them.
