A member representing Ikot Abasi/Mkpat Enin/Eastern Obolo Federal Constituency in the House of Represesentatives, Uduak Ududoh, has been urged to withdraw the motion he presented on the floor of the House excluding Eket, Esit Eket and Onna Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State as coastal Areas in Akwa Ibom State.
In a motion presented to the House of Representatives on July 12, on the need to increase Maritime Security Personnel in coastal areas of Akwa Ibom State, the lawmaker specifically mentioned Eastern Obolo, Mkpat Enin, Ikot Abasi, Ibeno, Mbo, Oron, Okobo, Udung Uko and Urue-Offong/Oruko local government arears, deliberately omitting Eket, Esit Eket and Onna local government arears.
Speaking in Eket, General Anthony Etukudo, who is the political leader of Eket Federal Constituency described Ududoh’s action as a deliberate move to remove Eket, Esit Eket and Onna from the list of coastal Areas in Akwa Ibom State.
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“Once the document containing the Motion is referred to the Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, documented and sent back to the House for final legislation, it becomes a legal instrument in the eyes of the law”, he said.
“I’m calling on the lawmaker to withdraw the motion papers and do the necessary amendments to reflect the true position on ground”, Etukudo said.
Etukudo, a former Director of the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON), however agreed with the lawmaker on the urgent need to beef up security on the coastal areas of Akwa Ibom State and the Niger Delta at large.
He stated that the lawmaker may have been acting a script written for him by those who have been angling to remove Eket, Esit Eket and Onna from the list of coastal Areas of Akwa Ibom State.
“Eket, Esit Eket and Onna local government Arears have always been coastal areas and has over the years been subjected to the negative impact of oil exploration while the people wallow in abject poverty because of environmental degradation caused by decades of oil activities in the area, to covertly remove the three local government arears from the list of coastal areas is criminal and unacceptable”, Etukudo said.