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Rejection, Outrage Hit Eno Ibanga’s Mkpat Enin Political Leadership Move

…youths call on ‘distracted Commissioner’ to resign

By Emmanuel Willie, MKPAT ENIN

The move by a few persons to declare and foist Prof. Eno Ibanga – Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Works and Fire Service as the new ‘Political Leader’ of Mkpat Enin has been met with stiff rejection, outrage and condemnation.

An influential section of youths in the Local Government Area have in fact, called for the resignation of the former AKSU VC from State EXCO to focus on ‘political leadership’. They noted that Prof. Ibanga was clearly distracted barely a week after being reappointed and is causing Mkpat Enin and Gov. Umo Eno – an in-law in the area, ‘great embarrassment’.

Recall, few days ago, a purported video of Prof. Ibanga being presented to the Traditional Rulers Council of Mkpat Enin Local Government Area as Political Leader by a gang described in many quarters as ‘political jobbers’, emerged online.

At the alleged declaration, neither the serving Senator for Akwa Ibom South, Dr. Ekong Sampson, former Deputy Governor, Lady Valerie Ebe, PDP Chapter Chairman, Hon. Anietie Sunday, and many other critical stakeholders were present. Instead, Rt Hon. Bernard Udoh, a serial decampee from the PDP and former Reps, Hilary Oton – suspended Chapter Officer of the PDP, Udo Sam Umoatan, an abysmal ex-Council Chairman, among others were present. Controversial current Chairman of the Local Government Area, Hon. Anieokpon Ekpo, who was suspended for over a year over fraud and other illicit crimes, was also there.

Expectedly, the phantom declaration has earned endless negative reactions. Many of the reactions questioned Prof. Ibanga’s political leadership pedigree in a local government that has known political titans. Others said it was an attempt to bury Chief Richard ‘Tractor’ Umoren – ailing yet still officially recognized Political Leader of the area, alive. Many others miffed at the hastiness, sectional and non consultative nature of such moves.

A prominent Mkpat Enin sociopolitical group, Mkpat Enin Unity Network in a Statement, condemned Prof. Ibanga ‘divisive attempts at a time the Local Government Area should be united for the common good’. The Statement signed by the National Coordinator, Dr. Friday Akpabio and Secretary, Barr. Ebeute Ebeute read in parts:

“As a group saddled with the responsibility of uniting Mkpat Enin people at home and in the Diaspora, we are very concerned about the negative reactions that have continued to trail the purported ‘announcement’ by a few persons who do not represent the opinions of the wider spectrum of stakeholders across the four clans of Mkpat Enin local government area.

In as much as we are not against the emergence of anybody as political leader of Mkpat, Enin LGA, we are strongly against the process that led to such controversial action especially when our major stakeholders were neither consulted nor made to be part of the process. We are therefore concerned that such action could threaten the peace of our people thus giving the impression that could associate our peace-loving people with political upheavals as witnessed in other local government areas”.

The group recalled the crisis that rocked the LGA last time over the case of political leader, cautioning Eno Ibanga’s promoters against setting the area ablaze again by their antics. It cautioned:

“The Hon. Commissioner for Works and Fire Service, rather than chase agenda that will not help him in his assigned duties, he should rather concentrate on helping the State Governor actualize his ARISE Agenda for rural development. The Governor’s charge on Hon. Commissioners to interpret Government policies and programmes in their various LGAs should not be misconstrued to mean chasing political leadership. Rather, the Governor was simply urging them to go implement the policies of government at the grassroots. While other Commissioners have gone back to comply with the Governor’s directives with humility, that of Mkpat Enin has been misinterpreted to further selfish, distracting political ambitions”.

The message advised “the general public to ignore the antics of these contractors and political jobbers as they not represent the opinion of Mkpat Enin people”.

In related condemnation, PDP Chieftains have equally lambasted the circus that congregated over the now unpopular Eno Ibanga declaration, declaring as bereft of needed integrity.

The duo of Hon. Mfon Nkanteon, Vice Chairman (Eket Senatorial District) and State Officer of the PDP and Hon. Emmanuel Jacob, Vice Chairman of the Party in Mkpat Enin noted that the decision was merely the opinion of a few, as the party leadership in the area was unaware and not part of the decision, adding that such does not reflect the collective will of Mkpat Enin people.

On his part, a former Transition Committee Chairman of Mkpat Enin and serving Commissioner in the Ethical and Attitudinal Reorientation Commission(EARCOM), Sir Ubong Ekefre chided Prof’s ill-fated announcement. He said the declaration of Prof. Ibanga when Chief Richard Umoren was still alive, amounted to burying the revered elder statesman and former Council Chairman, popularly known as ‘Tractor’, alive.

Sir Ekefre, in a Press Statement noted:

“it saddens me that Prof Eno Ibanga, barely forty-eight hours after his reappointment as Commissioner for Works and his cohorts have attempted to bury the first democratically elected Chairman, Obong Richard Umoren alive by embarking on a socio-politically and spiritually wrong quest for political leadership”
Sir Ekefre described the move by Prof. Eno Ibanga as ‘a toddlers first steps.

Many other critical stakeholders and Political calculators in the area have described the latest attempt by a herd of cheerleaders to smuggle Prof. Eno Ibanga through the back door and crown him the political leader of Mkpat Enin as the most brazen political fraud attempted in the leadership history of the LGA. They surmised the effort as ‘a shot over the bar’ and another of Ibanga’s political neophysm and miscalculations.