By Franklyn ISONG
It is important to add my voice in the spate of issues arising from the seeming political impasse in Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom state.
Let me say that this piece is not intended to pass judgement or allocate blames. But to attempt to critically look at the issues and suggest ways at resolving them.
Before going forward, it is worthy to note that, the Itu crisis first started with name-callings and media war between the “two camps” of the state House of Assembly member, Mr Idongesit Ituen and the Commissioner for Housing and Special Duties, Mr Akan Okon, few weeks ago.
As is usually the case, there is always casualty(ies) in any battle. This is no difference. Some members of the appointed Itu Transition Committee - an illegal body set up by the state government in place of the constitutionally recognised elected council officials – wrote a strong worded and incriminating petition to the state House of Assembly against the Chairman of the Transition Committee, Mrs Elsie Esara.
This petition dated 18th April, 2017, apparently, accused Elsie Esara of high-handedness and misappropriation of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the Local Government Area to the tune of N50m, especially from Urua Itam, a popular market in the area.
The worrisome aspect of the petition is the aspect where the petitioners alleged that their council boss normally uses the name of the Akwa Ibom State First Lady and wife of the governor, Mrs Martha Udom Emmanuel as reasons for always illegally tampering with the council‘s funds thereby short-changing the people of Itu of their collective patrimony.
According to an extract made from an advertorial published on page 12 of The Ink newspaper of Monday, 29th May, 2017, titled; “Reaffirmation of petition against Itu Transition Committee Chairman, Mrs Elsie Esara.” Which read; “That we at no point in time said in our earlier petition that Esara shared Itu IGR with Her Excellency Martha Udom Emmanuel.
Rather, it was Elsie Esara who told us at the council headquarters that she used the money generated from Itu to settle bills on behalf of Her Excellency.
She also mentioned the names of Senator Anietie Okon, Hon. Idongesit Ituen, Hon. Henry Archibong, Mr Akan Okon, Mr Effiong Okon Ebong and Mr Victor Okon as those she is sharing the money with. We never generated or created that information but she supplied it.
We did not and will not and cannot accuse Her Excellency, Martha Udom Emmanuel of taking the money belonging to Itu contrary to what Elsie Esara wants the general public to believe.
We are ready to testify anywhere to buttress our points on how the name of Her Excellency was dropped by Mrs Esara.”
The petition was singed by Etido Eyo Udo, Secretary of the Transition Committee; Ubong Victor Edem, Supervisor for Works; Emem Archibong Udoh, Supervisor for Health; Kufre Asuquo Emah, Supervisor for Special Duties and Anthonia Christian Udoette, Supervisor for Women Affairs.
While I will refrain from commenting on the merit and demerits of the petition. And the propriety of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly inviting the council Chairman, Mrs Elsie Esara to appear before its plenary session, which she did a few weeks ago.
I am, however, worried that barely 24 hours after the AKHA drilled Mrs Esara, the House, I leant, allegedly forwarded a report to the state governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, advising him to sanction the Itu council boss.
In my view, the AKHA should have waited for the outcome of her House Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs that is still conducting investigations into the matter, instead of acting in such a way to pre-empt the Committee’s final report.
By the way, why should the AKHA report sent to the governor be leaked to the press? Who leaked the report? What is the intention beneath the action? Is it to embarrass the state governor or the council boss? Is it to impress the public or to impress a particular interest in the matter? These are some thoughts provoking questions for my state lawmakers to supply answers to. If it must be taken serious as far as this Itugate is concerned.
What beats the imagination of Akwa Ibom people is that it took the AKHA less than 48 hours to forward its findings on the Itugate to the state governor for action, while the report on the probe of the Anchor Poultry Scheme carried out about 8 months ago by the same Assembly is still not ready for the public to know WHO did WHAT, WHEN, WHY and HOW? This is a subject for another discourse.
On appearing before the 26-member assembly, Mrs Esara mentioned some names of persons allegedly involved in the saga.
My suggestion is; it would be proper for the sake of thoroughness, for all those mentioned in both the petition and by Mrs Esara, including the First lady of the state, Mrs Udom Emmanuel, should be invited to appear before the House Committee investigating the matter. This will, at least, aid the Committee and the AKHA on its final report.
And will also afford the First Lady and other accused persons the opportunity to state their sides of the story, thus clearing their names and images from the mess created by this crisis.
I want the AKHA to get it right this time around. And so, morally speaking, it is wrong for Mr Idongesit Ituen who has been named in the petition to be allowed to sit as a member of the House Committee investigating the petition which he is an accused person. This is a breach of the popular legal maxim that; “You cannot be a judge in your owe case.”
It does not give the House the image of being fair to all in this Itugate saga. It further raises some doubts in what the public should expect as the final outcome of the Committee’s findings.
The argument that “the Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Committee handling the matter, is a standing committee of the AKHA which Mr Idongesit Ituen is a member”, does not preclude the very obvious fact that he is an interested party in this particular matter. First, as a lawmaker from Itu and second, as someone named in the petition.
Therefore, it would have been proper and morally right too, for Mr Ituen to have excused himself from the committee’s sittings on the matter or be made to do so, from Day-One of the committee’s public hearing and/or other meetings with respect to the Itugate saga.
This matter, albeit, is another acid-cum-integrity test for the “people’s assembly” and I can say, my friend and in-law, the Honourable Speaker and other intellectuals in the AKHA will not disappoint the expectations of Akwa Ibom people in this Itugate crisis.
We want a permanent solution that will bring permanent peace in Itu Local Government Area. The area is currently lacking in terms of physical developments and human empowerment, in spite of her people’s contributions in the 2015 elections that produced the Udom Emmanuel’s administration, because of this detestful and unnecessary supremacy battles by the political class in the area.
In conclusion, few individuals in and around the corridors of Udom government should not be allowed to deprive the people of their collective patrimony.
It is therefore, my recommendation that, whoever is found culpable in this saga, no matter his/her standing in the society, should be made to dance the music according to the laws of the state.
• Franklyn Isong is a public affairs commentator
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