By Samuel Abasiekong-Abasiekong
As aspirants, stakeholders and political parties and others lobby for their respective interests in the forthcoming local government council elections in Akwa Ibom State, political horse trading in Urueffong/Oruko Local Government is heating the polity in the area as some stakeholders advocate for micro zoning and others calling for the election of a competent chairman of council based on the agreed zoning to Oruko Development Area.
Those advocating for micro-zoning are in support of Hon. Asuquo Archibong, the immediate past member representing Urueffong/Oruko in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly from ward 8 or Evangelist Uyah Ebieme, the immediate past secretary of the council from ward 6, or Osung Okwong Osukungudu the current Supervisory Councilor from ward 8, all from Oruko development area.
Other clusters of stakeholders who are apparently gaining more support and acceptability are advocating for the institution of the current transition chairman of the council, Dr.Tububok Okpoyo from ward 9 to the position of elected chairman of the council.
Their choice of Dr. Okpoyo, daughter of Amb Etim Jack Okpoyo, former Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, her supporters say is premised on the fact that she is the first transition chairman in the area who has assumed the position of the biblical Nehemiah to build the broken walls of Urueffong/Oruko Local Government Area.
Speaking to this reporter, a youth activist and public affairs commentator, Edet Afahakan said: “I was born in Oruko Development Area to see Eyubia Asang Beach to be a major tourist centre and a business hub in my LGA. Because of the viability of the that beach, Oruko market used to attract traders from Cross River State, Onitsha market, Aba, traders from Western Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon etc. But successive administrations in our local government council have abandoned that beach and led it go on extinction.
“No former elected chairman, transition chairman, nor House of Assembly member ever mentioned this critical asset of our local government to any past governor of the state, but Dr. Tukubok Okpoyo, even when she was not yet elected, but just a transition chairman came in and revamped Eyubia Asang Beach which was abandoned for decades.”
Afahakan further said majority of persons looking for the position of elected chairman of Urueffong/Uruko today had held little or critical political positions for the people of the people of the LGA. “I challenge them, to publish a single thing they have attracted for the area, let them publish the name of only one person they have empowered, let them show us how effective and useful they were in office in their own respective rights.
Also calling on the party (The People Democratic Party- PDP) to ignore micro-zoning in the forth coming election, a socio-political group in area, the Orueffong/Uruko Promoters for Excellence Performance in Public Office (2UPEPPO) said, we cannot sacrifice excellence for mediocrity, as the majority does not support micro-zoning which tend to be targeted at persons we all know have never been of a public benefit to the generality of the people in our community. We wont allow that, and especially at this time of local government council autonomy Esio Asuquo the leader of the group maintained.
Hon. Leinzi Osin Ewang, the current Supervisor for Works, Transports and Housing who also spoke to this reporter condemned the advocacy of micro-zoning and appealed to its promoters to show evidence of their performance in the positions they held before to convince the people of Urueffong Oruko to allow mediocrity again in the LGA.
