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Tag: Akwa Ibom

  • Akwa Ibom commits to preserving heritage’

    Akwa Ibom commits to preserving heritage’

    Last year’s National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) was an opportunity for players in the creative industry to showcase some cultural commodities, such as dance, culinary skills, fine art, textile designs and crafts. In this interview with Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME, the Permanent Secretary, Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Elder Offiong Udoffe, a lawyer, speaks on the festival’s impact on the state’s socio-economic life.  

    Why is Akwa Ibom keen on children art events, especially the competitive ones?
    Nigeria is a great country and we have to ensure that we develop our children to maintain the standard that we will set as a country. As a state, we focus on children in order to tap their potentials. There are lots of youths who are very talented in visual art and other creative arts, and we feel that we should incorporate essay writing and painting in the programme to task the children in these aspects. This is to improve on their inherent potentials so that they can be proud Nigerians.
    Are we going to see more of Wole Soyinkas and Chinua Achebes from this NAFEST competition?
    Honestly, that is the vision. As a matter of fact, we do understand that these days, children are no longer interested in reading novels and they are also not interested in poetry and painting. But we need to encourage them because by the time the likes of Soyinka are no longer there, we need the young ones to step up and take their places in the history of this country.
    How is your state preserving indigenous languages?
    The state is doing a lot to develop the local languages, which have been introduced into curriculum in the schools so that the children can be well groomed in their local languages. It will be very sad if a child cannot speak the local language or name the food they eat. These days, you find children talking about indomie and fast food. We are trying to inculcate in our children those virtues that are in our local languages, and of course you know that you can only appreciate what they are doing through the local languages.
    Akwa Ibom State Government and the Ministry of Education is putting everything in place to ensure that the local language is introduce in our school and our children can use it in whatsoever they are doing.
    Is the state reviewing the school curriculum at the lower level to accommodate language teachers?
    Well, Akwa Ibom State Government is doing well in that direction. About a year ago, the state embarked on the employment of about 5,000 teachers and they were purely core professionals in education. We took this into consideration when recruitment was going on. I believe with this action taken by the state government, we will have enough teachers in this area of creative art to develop the young ones.
    It is rare to find children hawking on the streets of Uyo unlike other states?
    There is a law in place that any child found on the road hawking or trading during school hours should be arrested and detained by the staff of the Ministry of Women Affairs. That order has been effective for the past years. Every child must be in school as Akwa Ibom State introduced free and compulsory education for all children, whether you are from Akwa Ibom or not.

  • Court sacks Akwa Ibom PDP senator

    Court sacks Akwa Ibom PDP senator

    The Federal High Court 2, sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, yesterday ruled that the senator representing Uyo Senatorial District (Akwa Ibom North-East), Bassey Albert, was not eligible to stand in the 2015 election.
    Former House of Representatives member for Uyo Federal Constituency, Elder Bassey Etim, had approached the court with allegation that senator Albert colluded with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to wrongly substitute his name.
    He argued that Albert never stood for the December 2014 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial primary, adding that the former commissioner for Finance only worked with INEC and other PDP officials to expunge his name and replaced it with his.
    He urged the court to nullify the poll and declare him the authentic candidate for the election.
    In the two-hour judgment delivered by Justice Fatun Riman, the prayers were upheld yesterday and Albert was asked to vacate the seat for Etim.
    Riman, who awarded N200,000 cost against Albert, asked the Senate leadership to immediately swear in Etim, as the duly elected senator for Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
    Besides, the court ordered INEC to immediately issue a Certificate of Return to Etim. The embattled Senator was asked to refund all entitlements which accrued to him as senator to Etim.
    Counsel to Etim, Mr. Taiwo Abe, hailed the judgment as “victory for democracy”, promising that the merit of the case would sustain the victory up to the Supreme Court.
    Cousel to the defendant, Mr. Offiong Offiong (SAN), rejected the outcome, saying he would return to the drawing board to consult with his client on the next line of action.
    The PDP in Akwa Ibom, in a statement last night, said: “It is imperative to remind the entire public that this is jut the end of round 1 of a 3 round legal encouter and therefore certainly not conclusive in any manner. It must be kept in mind that being a pre-election matter, the ultimate destination of this matter is the Supreme Court. There is therefore no cause for alarm or panick from any quarters.”

  • Petrol scarcity bites harder in Akwa Ibom

    Akwa Ibom is now groaning under a severe scarcity of fuel sparked by a strike by tanker drivers.

    Mr Bassey Nkanga, the Controller of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in charge of Akwa Ibom and Cross River, told newsmen in Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State yesterday that the development followed a misunderstanding between the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the state and the tanker drivers.

    Nkanga said the tanker drivers had already protested over the arrest of one of their colleagues by NSCDC for alleged loading of adulterated products.

    The controller, however, said that the DPR had been making effort to settle the crisis between both parties.

    “I wonder why the parties are not considering the plight of the people before taking any action,’’ he said.

    According to Nkanga, the independent marketers are beginning to take advantage of the problem to make brisk business.

    He said that more than 200 trucks loaded with the product were parked along the road, but the drivers had refused to enter the city, thereby making life difficult for the people.

    Also speaking, Mr Essien Esema, the Senior Special Assistant to Gov. Udom Emmanuel on Petroleum Matters, said the tanker drivers had no reason to embark on any form of strike over the matter.

    Esema expressed displeasure with the development, saying that it was not proper for the people to hold the state to ransom at any slight provocation.

    This is the second time the NSCDC and tanker drivers are having issues.

    Following the incident, petrol now sells for N170 per litre in the area.

    NAN checks also revealed that most of the filling stations don’t open to customers until late in the night to dispense their products.

  • ‘Akwa Ibom can rake N20bn in revenue’

    ‘Akwa Ibom can rake N20bn in revenue’

    A consultant to the Akwa Ibom State government on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) , Messrs Rom Flex Networks Limited, plans to increase the state’s intake to over N20 billion annually.
    The firm’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Eyo Bassey, spoke with reporters yesterday in Uyo, the state capital.
    Bassey said: “As the Federal Government grapples to shift the economy from the oil sector as the dominant provider of revenue for governments, Rom Flex Networks Limited as IGR consultants to Akwa IbomState government is prospecting to pull the state out of the present doldrums of recession.
    ‘We are set to benchmark IGR beyond N20bn in the current year.”
    He said the turnover of the previous year was “quite impressive”, while also forecasting increased revenue generation in the new fiscal year with a projection it said, has a potential to “more than double” receipts in the second quarter.
    He said as IGR consultant, it is seeking all avenues to increase government revenue.
    Bassey said the firm was collaborating with Ministries, Departments and Agencies, (MDAs), including the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Investments, Commerce and Industry to expand the state‘s tax net. Measures to be introduced include: the use of Tax Identification Number (TIN) and the introduction of Renewal/Registration of Business Premises (RBP), among others.
    He enjoined tax payers and all employers of labour to key-in with the revenue policy reforms.

     

  • 28 roads under construction in Akwa Ibom

    28 roads under construction in Akwa Ibom

    Twenty eight roads in Akwa Ibom are under construction, Commissioner for Works, Ephraim Inyangeyen, said yesterday.

    He spoke when the Usoro Akpanusoh-led House of Assembly Committee on Finance and Appropriation inspected projects undertaken by the Ministry of Works.

    According to Inyangeyen, Governor Udom Emmanuel is determined to inaugurate at least 11 of the roads this year, with many to be delivered by his second anniversary on May 29.

    He added that the governor will ensure every local government benefits from road infrastructure before the end of his first term in office.

    Among roads inspected were the 5km Ikot Usop-Ikot Edeghe-Ikot Ekpuk Road and 30m Span Bridge in Mkpat Enin council; the 14 kilometre Ikpe Ikot Nkon/Obotme/Arochukwu road and Nkana Bridge; two bridges in Ini council, the 16.5 kilometres Nto Edino-Ekwerre Azu road in Obot Akara and the four kilometre Nung Ukim Ikono road in Ikono.

    Akpanusoh lauded the governor for not playing politics with projects and for keeping faith with the people.

  • ‘370, 000 people HIV positive in Akwa Ibom’

    Ex-Akwa Ibom State Health Commissioner Dr. Ememabasi Bassey has said 370, 000 people are HIV positive in the state.

    He told reporters in Uyo HIV/AIDS prevalence stood at 10.8 per cent, which he noted is the second highest in the country.

    “As I speak, there is an estimated 370,000 people that are HIV positive,’’ Bassey said.

    According to him, less than 15 per cent of the figure is undergoing treatment in hospitals.

    “As a doctor, I will do myself a disservice if I do not raise awareness.

    “Last week, I had a privilege of chairing an HIV/AIDS summit in the state,’’ Bassey, who works with the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, said.

    He said HIV was a challenge facing oil producing communities, especially riverine communities.

    “If we are not careful, one of the things we will discover in future is that we will have a depopulation of youths in oil and mineral producing communities,’’ Bassey said.

    He urged the government to commit funds to the fight against HIV/AIDS, to save the most vulnerable members of the society from extinction.

  • Police injure 10 as dead teachers’ children protest in Akwa Ibom

    Police injure 10 as dead teachers’ children protest in Akwa Ibom

    The police in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, yesterday detained three children of dead primary school teachers who protested non-payment of gratuities and pensions of their parents by the state government.
    Ten others were injured as policemen at the Government House gate used force to break the protest.
    Among those detained at the time of filing this report were the leaders of the group: Kenneth Enobong, Benjamin Benson and Utibe Akpan.
    The police used tear gas and gun buts to scare the protesters.
    Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) D. R. Abibo allegedly ordered the use of Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) to drive the protesters away from the Government House gate.
    Akibo was said to have ordered his officers and men order to beat up the protesters.
    “Beat up these people. If you cannot beat them, let me beat them by my hand,” he was quoted as saying in the full glare of reports.
    The police chief allegedly watched as some of the protesters were bundled into a vehicle.
    Akibo said: “I told them to leave the road and stand by the side so that they can listen to me. but they disobeyed me as the Commissioner of Police. Who are they that they can’t listen or obey a simple instruction?”
    The ACP represents the police at the commission of enquiry on the collapsed Reigners Bible Church International in Uyo.
    “We are handling this kind of case at the commission and I was trying to help them in their case. But they refused to obey me,” he said before leaving the scene in his Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV).
    It was learnt that a police Inspector ordered the other policemen to drive the other protesters away – as far as Ibom Plaza or beyond.
    Reporters covering the protest, including the Chairman of Correspondents’ Chapel, Denis Udoma, were attacked with tear gas and ordered to leave the scene with the protesters.
    The protesters, under the aegis of Next-of-Kin-of Late Primary School Teachers (NKLPST) in Akwa Ibom State, said they were forced into the peaceful agitation following government’s alleged insensitivity to their plight.
    The group’s spokesman Pastor Aniekan Thompson said they resorted to the protest when negotiations with the government failed.
    According to him, the affected teachers served the government since 1999, lived and died while waiting for their entitlements.
    Thompson said several appeals were made to the government and other officials, including the Head of Service (HoS), Mrs. Ekerebong Akpan, to no avail.
    He said: “After numerous protests, a committee on pensions, headed by the Leader of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Sir Udo Kirian Akpan, invited us for a meeting and we met on August 29 and September 19, last year, and agreed ‘…that since government cannot pay all the backlog of entitlements at once’, it will start paying in batches, from the September allocation. They said we should not protest again, that it was embarrassing to government.”
    The spokesman said government’s failure to settle the issues led to the death of many members and the educational pursuit of their children.
    Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) State Chairman Etim Ukpong said he advised Governor Udom Emmanuel to use the N14.5 billion Paris Club refunds to settle such cases.
    But the governor, two weeks ago, took the matter to the House of Assembly, asking the lawmakers to include the Paris Club cash in the proposed budget of N365.201 billion.

  • 10 injured at protest in Akwa Ibom

    10 injured at protest in Akwa Ibom

    The police in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, yesterday detained three children of dead primary school teachers who protested non-payment of gratuities and pensions of their parents.
    Ten others were injured as policemen at the Government House gate used force to break the protest.
    Among those detained were leaders of the group: Kenneth Enobong, Benjamin Benson and Utibe Akpan.
    The police used tear gas and gun butt to scare the protesters.
    Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) D. R. Abibo allegedly ordered the use of Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) to drive the protesters from the Government House gate.
    Akibo was said to have ordered his officers and men to beat up the protesters.
    “Beat up these people. If you cannot beat them, let me beat them by my hand,” he was quoted as saying.
    The police chief allegedly watched as some of the protesters were bundled into a vehicle.
    Akibo said: “I told them to leave the road and stand by the side so that they can listen to me. but they disobeyed me as the Commissioner of Police. Who are they that they can’t listen or obey a simple instruction?”
    The ACP represented the police at the commission of enquiry on the collapsed Reigners Bible Church International in Uyo.
    “We are handling this kind of case at the commission and I was trying to help them in their case. But they refused to obey me,” he said before leaving the scene in his Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV).
    It was learnt a police Inspector ordered the other policemen to drive the other protesters away – as far as Ibom Plaza or beyond.
    Reporters covering the protest, including the Chairman of Correspondents’ Chapel, Denis Udoma, were attacked with tear gas and ordered to leave the scene with the protesters.
    The protesters, under the aegis of Next-of-Kin-of Late Primary School Teachers (NKLPST) in Akwa Ibom State, said they were forced into the peaceful agitation following government’s alleged insensitivity to their plight.
    The group’s spokesman Pastor Aniekan Thompson said they resorted to the protest when negotiations with the government failed.
    According to him, the affected teachers had served the government since 1999, lived and died while waiting for their entitlements.
    Thompson said several appeals were made to the government and other officials, including the Head of Service (HoS), Mrs. Ekerebong Akpan, to no avail.
    He said: “After numerous protests, a committee on pensions, headed by the Leader of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Sir Udo Kirian Akpan, invited us for a meeting and we met on August 29 and September 19, last year, and agreed ‘…that since government cannot pay all the backlog of entitlements at once’, it will start paying in batches, from the September allocation. They said we should not protest again, that it was embarrassing to government.”
    The spokesman said government’s failure to settle the issues led to the death of many members and the educational pursuit of their children.
    Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) State Chairman Etim Ukpong said he advised Governor Udom Emmanuel to use the N14.5 billion Paris Club refunds to settle such cases.
    But the governor, two weeks ago, took the matter to the House of Assembly, asking the lawmakers to include the Paris Club cash in the proposed budget of N365.201 billion.

  • Rowdy session over defection of PDP senator to APC

    The defection of the senator representing Akwa Ibom South, Senator Nelson Effiong, from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to All Progressives Congress (APC) threw the Senate into a rowdy session on Thursday.
     
    Senator Effiong who announced his defection from the PDP to the ruling APC blamed what he called the intractable crisis in the PDP as the reason for his action.
     
    The Akwa Ibom lawmaker noted that no reasonable politician worth his onions should remain in the PDP.
     
    He added that APC as a party has brought stability to Nigeria and also restored peace to some troubled parts of the country.
     
    He said, “I have decided that no reasonable politician who is worth his onions would remain in PDP and allow his people to be drifting about without a direction. So I have decided today (yesterday), the 19th day of January, 2017, to resign from the PDP and move to the party that is bringing peace and direction to this country.”
     
    Hardly had the defector sat down than the Deputy Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, took him on about his choice of words.
     
    Bwacha said that he had no issue if Effiong decided to jump ship ‘but it is insulting for him to describe those in the PDP as unreasonable.”
     
    He added that those who elected to follow the weather in their political career were free to do so.
     
    Such politicians, he said, should not turn round to insult others.
     
    The Taraba South lawmaker warned Effiong about the consequences of his action.
     
    Bwacha said: “I hope that my colleague is aware of the implications of what he has just done. The PDP as a party is one and is intact. I fear for his seat and the consequences that may follow as a result of this action. I want to say that what he has said appears to be an insult to those of us who are in the PDP that ‘a politician that is worth his onions will not remain in PDP’.
     
    “That is an insult. If you want to do the usual business in the Nigerian politics of following the weather, he should say it clearly. This business of moving here and there following the weather should be stated clearly and let him not deviate from the original intentions he has. We are going to meet in court.”
     
    The Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio who walked into the chamber after the defection, told the Senate that the PDP in Akwa Ibom State will challenge the defection in court and reclaim its mandate.
     
    Akpabio noted as an individual, Senator Effiong has the right to jump ship, but not to the detriment of the party under whose platform he rode to get to the Senate.
     
    Akpabio said: “I understand maybe due to political intoxication or otherwise, the Senator has  jumped ship and moved from this side to the other side. I need to let the Senate and the president know that in terms of the court decisions up to the Supreme Court, that it is not an individual that contests an election.
     
    “It is a political party and therefore the moment somebody takes the mandate of a political party, it behooves on that political party to immediately take steps. We heard that this action is going to take place and we engaged the Senator in various discussions and we showed him the implication. 
     
    “I want it to be noted in this Senate that the PDP in Akwa Ibom State is already on its way to court and we   would want to reclaim its mandate. We must reclaim the mandate given to us and we do not mind the Senator joining the APC, but he will not go with the mandate given to us in Akwa Ibom State. The reason why I am standing is that today, it is the PDP, tomorrow it might be APC.”
     
    Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, fearing escalation of the issue, did not allow further debate of the defection.
     
    Some Senators were seen arguing on top of their voices against and for the defection.
     
    The way and manner the defection of Senator Yele Omogunwa representing Ondo South from PDP to APC was handled forced PDP senators to walk out of the chamber last month.
     
    It was apparent that Saraki did not want the walk of the opposition senators to reoccur.

  • Akwa Ibom gets first private varsity

    The National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved the operating licence for Obong University at Obong Nkak in Akwa Ibom State as a private tertiary institution.

    The licence, which was signed by NUC’s Secretary, Mallam Adamu Adamu, was presented to the university’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Udoudo Ekanem-Essang.

    The vice chancellor, who presented the licence yesterday to the Chairman of the university’s Board of Trustees (BOT), Prof. Moses Akpanudo, said the institution would continue to maintain its primal status as the first private university in Akwa Ibom State.

    He said: “It means we cannot be stopped. Our university has had a lot of teaching problems. At a point, the licence was suspended. Thank God for the goodness of so many members of Akwa Ibom community and outside Akwa Ibom that it was restored. Now, it has been made permanent. It is a very significant milestone in the growth of our university.”

    Prof. Ekanem-Essang said the university would run 10 programmes with over 500 students.

    He said the institution had applied for five additional programmes, adding that by March, NUC would come for our resource assessment of the programmes.

    The vice chancellor, who disagreed with the decision of the Federal Government to fund only public universities, said it was constitutionally illegal for the Federal Government to use the money from taxes or the sale of oil and other natural resources to fund public universities.

    He said: “Right now, there are 69 private universities in Nigeria, even more than Federal universities. In aggregate, most students may be attending private and federal universities. So, those children attending private universities are not benefiting from the natural resources of this country. So, we have to revisit how we fund our tertiary education.

    “Funding should not be based on any ratio. It should be based on student population. Funding should be targeted towards students rather than towards institutions. There are models we can test: the British model, American mode, Australian model and many other nations’ models across the world which are running tertiary institutions.

    “We should study their models and see which one will be most appropriate for Nigeria so that every Nigerian citizen benefits from it. Right now, every Nigerian citizen doesn’t benefit.

    “Nigeria’s tertiary education system is still elitist. We don’t make allowance for poor families, families that have not yet produced a university graduate. How do these people assess the university education?

    “It is because education is one of the best vehicles to move from poverty to the middle class. So, if we don’t make allowance for these people who don’t meet the cut-off points, there is no provision on how they can remedy it except they take the exam next year.

    “We have to develop a programme which allows people to remedy their situation and move into the university. We don’t have a programme for pre-education. Nigeria does not have pre-education programme. Science has shown that the first three years of life is when our brains are most functional. We don’t have pre-education a programme on how to prepare kids for this.”