The long-running leadership question in Iquita Village, Oron Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, has taken a decisive turn following separate interventions by the Deputy Governor of the state, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, and the Oron Traditional Rulers’ Council (TRC), both of which have reportedly endorsed the Mbai family as the rightful lineage to produce the next Village Head of the community.
The development has reignited debate over what many stakeholders describe as decades of marginalisation against the Mbai family, one of the three ancestral families that constitute Iquita Village.
Community records and oral traditions identify the three ancestral families as Mbai, Udung Uso and Eyo Usotai. While the latter two families have alternated in occupying the village stool since 1963, the Mbai family has allegedly remained excluded from the traditional leadership structure despite being one of the founding ancestral lineages of the community.
Iquita, a coastal Oro community in Oron Local Government Area, traces its roots to ancient Oro settlements within the Afaha Okpo Clan.
Historical accounts indicate that the community evolved through a series of migrations from Ekid in Eket, through Eyulor-Oro and Uko Mbai, before finally settling in its present location.
Oral tradition also identifies Iquita as an early fishing settlement whose people played significant roles in the political and military history of the Oro Nation.
Central to the current agitation is the legacy of His Highness Chief Umoh Iduk, regarded as the last Village Head produced by the Mbai family. Historical records show that Chief Umoh Iduk represented Iquita in a notable dispute involving Uya-Oro in 1912 and remained a prominent traditional authority until his death in 1963.
Following his demise, the village headship reportedly passed successively to leaders from the Udung Uso and Eyo Usotai families, with no member of the Mbai family ascending the stool thereafter.
Stakeholders argue that this succession pattern violated the traditional principle of rotational leadership among the three ancestral families.
According to community leaders, repeated occupation of the stool by only two lineages has created a perception of exclusion and injustice that has persisted for more than six decades.
The issue gained renewed prominence on December 25, 2025, when members of the Iquita Consultative Forum (ICF), Interim Village Council, family heads and other community stakeholders paid a courtesy visit to Deputy Governor Senator Akon Eyakenyi and her spouse at their residence in Oron.
Sources disclosed that during the meeting, attended by representatives of the various ancestral families, calls were made for fairness and equity in the selection of a new Village Head.
Elder Etim Eyakenyi, spouse to the deputy governor of Akwa Ibom State, reportedly commended the efforts of the Interim Village Council and urged stakeholders to embrace justice, equity and fairness in the leadership selection process.
In remarks widely discussed within the community, the Deputy Governor, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, personally expressed surprise at what she described as a departure from inclusive decision-making processes that should ordinarily characterize community leadership.
She reportedly observed that leadership in Iquita had historically revolved around the Udung Uso and Eyo Usotai families and suggested that, in the interest of peace, unity and progress, the Mbai family should be given due consideration in the current succession process.
The strongest institutional backing for the Mbai position, however, came from the Oron Traditional Rulers’ Council.
In a formal finding and ruling dated April 14, 2026, and communicated through correspondence issued on May 19, 2026, the council concluded that Mbai family is one of the three ancestral families of Iquita and that village headship, by custom and tradition, is rotational among the three lineages.
The council further found that the last Village Head produced by the Mbai family was Chief Umoh Iduk in 1963 and that no member of the family has occupied the stool since then.
The ruling described the situation as a long-standing injustice and noted that while the Mbai family had remained without representation on the stool for decades, both Udung Uso and Eyo Usotai had each produced village heads multiple times.
Consequently, the council, under the leadership of His Highness Offong S. E. Onobo, ruled that since the stool of the Village Head of Iquita is presently vacant, the headship should immediately revert to the Mbai family.
The decision has been interpreted by many observers as a landmark traditional pronouncement aimed at restoring balance, equity and historical justice within the community.
Despite these interventions, community sources allege that certain influential interests within Oron political circles are working behind the scenes to frustrate implementation of the recommendation and maintain the existing pattern of leadership succession.
While no specific individuals have been publicly identified, advocates of the Mbai cause argue that any attempt to bypass both the position attributed to the Deputy Governor and the ruling of the Oron Traditional Rulers’ Council would amount to a continuation of the marginalisation that the family has allegedly endured since 1963.
For many residents, the issue now transcends the question of who becomes Village Head. Rather, it has become a test of whether traditional justice, historical equity and institutional decisions will prevail over political maneuvering.
