From Isaac Job, Uyo
Ibeno coastal community in Akwa Ibom state have condemned recent media reports alleging that the controversial new map by the Akwa Ibom state government has changed the old boundaries around coastal oil bearing communities in the state .
Reacting to the incident at the weekend, the Ulok Ulok Progressive Assembly of Ibeno people while referring to the report titled “Court Judgements, Historical Documents, Validate ‘Controversial’ Akwa Ibom Map Law” said the report has caused anger among elders, leaders and stakeholders of the community describing it “a figment of the purveyors’ imagination and a ploy to intimidate the court which the matter is currently pending.”
It therefore urged the public to disregard such mischievous publication aimed at diverting attention of the people from the truth of the matter.
Speaking with our Reporter in Ibeno, the Secretary of Ibeno Clan Council, Chief Udofia Okon Udofia, said the failed re-mapping project was one of the wrong doings of former Governor Udom Emmanuel’s administration.
“The aim was to re-allocate the oil and gas resources belonging to other communities in the litoral local government areas of the State to his home local government of Onna, in order to access host community benefits under the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021,” he noted
Udofia noted that, the Court had earlier delivered judgement on the matter in favour of Eastern Obolo people including Ibeno before former governor Emmanuel hurriedly assented to the Bill from the state House of Assembly to remap the area .
He explained that the controversial remapping Law which was hurriedly enacted on the orders of the immediate past administration has continued to generate tensions and crisis in the affected council areas.
“The former governor had sent the Executive Bill to the House of Assembly in 2023, seeking the House to enact a law creating a new map to address boundary issues in some oil communities around Mbo, Ibeno, Eastern Obolo, Mkpat Enin, Ikot Abasi and other local government areas, with the hope that the new map would diffuse tension and create a sense of belonging amongst the litoral LGAs”.
But rather than bring peace to the state, the Bill which was hurriedly passed by the House of Assembly and signed into law by the then governor, shortly before leaving office in 2023, according to him, has led to perennial ethnic killings amongst the litoral local government areas of Eastern Obolo, Ikot Abasi, Ibeno, Eket and Esit Eket LGAs, as the contenders argued the mutilated original boundaries in the state High Court.
Meanwhile the Paramount Ruler of Eket, Edidem E C D Abia; the apex socio-cultural organisation – Ekid People’s Union, EPU, led by the President- General (PG), Dr. Samuel Udonsak are in support of the new map, arguing that the state never had a map.
But, stakeholders from the oil – rich Ibeno ethnic nationality and their Obolos, and the Ijaw kinsmen in Mbo and Eastern Obolo LGAs, have kicked against the unilateral decision to remap their boundaries, describing the action as “illegal and politically – motivated, rather than necessity.”
Udofia appealed to governor Umo Eno, to use his good offices to address the boundary anomalies to stop further bloodshed around the oil and gas host communities.
“Did Akwa Ibom, as a political entity created by an Act of Parliament, already had a map with the boundary lines of all the LGAs specifically drawn.”
He said only political intervention would address the issues in dispute and avert further skirmishes and bloodshed witnessed since the launch of the controversial map.
“We are calling on the governor to withdraw the new map and revert to the old order because more deaths and destruction are looming in the coastal communities.
“The former governor never consulted the people through community engagements before taking the decision to muddle up the boundaries and putting a knife to the values of good neigbouliness as different ethnic nationalities in the same coastal plane.
“The major reason behind the wanton killings and destruction of our ecosystems by the infamous boundary adjustments could be located in the mischievous ploy by the former governor to connect his Onna LGA to the Atlantic because of the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, so as to enable his community to access the 3 percent derivation appropriation to litoral LGAs.”