Across 30 LGAs in Akwa Ibom state, a similar event took place simultaneously this morning. It was the turning of the sod to mark the commencement of the construction of the official residence for the local government chairman. I attended the one at my LGA, Ibesikpo-Asutan, held at a village known as Ikot Ediom. Ikot Ediom is about four kilometers from Nung Udoe, the local government headquarters, which is my own village. Ikot Ediom was chosen because it is home to a small housing estate the Attah administration built over 20 years ago. Now, the chairman’s new palatial residence would be nestled in the middle of this mini estate. It would be a four-bedroom duplex with a conference room and other facilities. It would be a huge advantage to the community.
Like all government events, there were protocols, speeches, politics and a lot of praises to the governor. Commissioner for Environment, Nsikak Ekong stood in for the state’s chief executive and turned the sod. ‘’In the course of my long career in politics, I have worked with many governors, and as you know, politicians sometime say things that they will not do; but Umo Eno is a promise keeper. He keeps his words and fulfils all his promises’’, the commissioner said in his remarks, and the crowd jumped up in excitement. He then reeled off the governor’s achievements, mentioning Arise Park, gratuities and so on. The idea of the official residence, he said, is to enhance accessibility to the chairman, and asked the youths to protect the property when it is completed.
Council chairman, Evangelist Edidiong Joseph Inyang, was ecstatic. He described the local government as a land of peace; and noted that the reelection of Gov. Eno would be the easiest election in the history of the state. ‘’Before 1 pm, the elections would be over in Ibesikpo-Asutan’’. To buttress the political harmony and peaceful coexistence in the LGA, Evangelist Inyang introduced the the chapter chairmen of APC and PDP who were seated together to the crowd. ‘’We have keyed into the Akwa Ibom United mantra’’, he said. I was surprised to see the two chairmen seated together. For a long time, Ibesikpo-Asutan was known for its rowdy politics where the two parties never saw eye to eye. The chairman listed Eno’s projects in the LGA and recalled that Ibesikpo-Asutan was one of the first LGAs the governor visited on assumption of office in 2023.
Pastor Umo Eno wants all the local government chiefs to live in their domain with their people, and the government is spending so much to provide a decent accommodation to each of them. Gov. Akpabio had a similar idea and he built what he called Security Village to accommodate the chairman, DPO and DSS officer in each LGA. But the chairmen never moved in. I made some inquiries about Akpabio’s ‘’security village’’ in Ibesikpo-Asutan. Someone told me that it is located in Ikot Obio Offong (my mother’s village) and has not been occupied because ‘’it is located far inside the bush’’. May Gov. Eno’s Completion Anointing visit those Security Villages and turn them into habitable residences.
Other speakers at the event, including the Woman Leader, Youth leader; political appointees and council officials commended the governor for the good job he’s doing and assured that he would be reelected with over 80% of the votes (my estimation is 65% -70%). The air was thick with politics of 2027. The presence of Dr. Ita Udosen, South-South APC Zonal Secretary and a proud son of the LGA, added prestige to the event. Ibesikpo-Asutan is the land of politics; the home of Eyo Uyo, the man who advocated strongly for the creation of the state and Obong Victor Attah, the Father of Modern Akwa Ibom State
After the ceremony, Chairman Inyang invited me to his office. I have known him since around 2019 when we were neighbours in Shelter Afrique Estate and he was Secretary of the local government. He was later elected deputy Chairman, and as Chairman, he wants to leave a lasting legacy. As soon as I arrived, he took me on a tour of the council’s premises, pointing at what he’s done in the one year he’s been in office (He assumed duties in November 2024). He has undertaken a massive renovation of dilapidated buildings, changed furniture and given the facilities a facelift. The premises wears a new landscape with roads paved. The last time I was here was in 2014 when I went to obtain Certificate of Origin. There were no toilet facilities in the whole compound then. But Inyang has renovated the whole place and turned it into a more comfortable work environment. ‘’Is this why they call you Capacity Chairman?’’, I asked. He did not answer, but continued to bombard me with his plans.
He is also building two new important structures at the same time, one is a massive Legislative Chambers where the councilors would be holding their parliamentary sittings and the other is a new office complex that would provide offices to staffs. ‘’The Councilors had no offices before I came in. They were completely dilapidated and councilors used to meet under the mango tree over there’’, he told me.
When he’s done with the two new buildings around mid this year, he plans to tear down the old Council Hall located across the expressway which has served as the only event centre in the LGA for decades and build ‘’a more befitting Conference Hall’’. In addition to providing decent work environment, the Chairman says he’s also invested in farming and food production. ‘’We have a big farm close to where we have just come from (the location of the Chairman’s residence). We grow food crops every year’’, he said. He is also planning to demolish the main Nung Udoe market (Urua Ofiong Aran) and build a more modern shopping complex at the same location. That market is probably as old as 100 years old. My mother had a shop there in the 1960s and early 1970s. It was a big trading post for Igbo traders before the civil war. But the market has remained unchanged – still made up of thatched huts and ramshackle open stalls, just as they were when I was a kid. If Chairman Edidiong Inyang turns it into a modern shopping complex that still accommodates the small traders, I shall arrange to give him the Best Chairman Award!
