By John Ernest
“A man of integrity does not climb to the mountain to shout with trumpet to gain votes, but his pedigree and virtue will honour him with the needed mandate to lead,” John Maxwell.
John C. Maxwell said it all by describing Ephraim Inyang in a few sentence. Frankly without apologies, if there is one commissioner in the Akwa Ibom State government whom journalists, both within and outside the state are endeared to is the Honourable Commissioner for Works, Akparawa Ephraim Inyang. His friendly disposition and leadership qualities of the state commissioner for Works endear him to the people of Onna Local Government Area and the state as the most credible leader with integrity serving his boss with dexterity, courage and audacity.
It is very easy to talk about the brand Akparawa Ephraim Inyang because every person who stumbles on articles about the commissioner will always agree that he is a commissioner to watch as driven by Uncommon Passion for service. Certainly, everyone who knows Akparawa Ephraim Inyang will agree that he is a man of deep wisdom and insight. He is a man routinely acknowledged for his integrity and who never leaves anyone in doubt about what he stands for.
This endearing, hard working and quintessential gentleman is one man that has consistently added value to humanity through his life of sacrifice, love and service laden fellowship to the course of humanity and service to God. His credibility and passion for service also count as positive in the attributes that qualifies him. As a leader with exceptional strength, ability and vision, Akparawa Inyang lived his life with honesty and integrity and has never been afraid to roll up his sleeve and get dirty in order to satisfy his boss and the people.
The people of Onna including His Excellency, Deacon Udom Gabriel Emmanuel have been blessed with a resourceful, energetic, focused and committed leader, a champion of empowerment of the people, father of the orphanages, friend of the needy, supporter of men, women and the youths. He is a product of fate and hard work. His fame has spread far and wide, National and International through his dint of hard work, vision and resilience.
Akparawa Ephraim Inyang’s performance and commitment to the development and wellbeing of the people of Akwa Ibom State surely portray him as a man of value and accomplishment. He has maintained an excellent track record of performance, discipline and hard work in his working career. It is that same spirit and passion for excellence that commissioner Inyang has imported to the Ministry of Works, Akwa Ibom State and the people are experiencing a refreshing phase of superior infrastructural renaissance.
Ephraim is God-fearing, possesses good team spirit, tremendous work capacity, strong character and leadership capabilities. Among his numerous endearing and attractive qualities is his detribalized nature. Just like his boss, Governor Udom Emmanuel, the commissioner does not care about where one comes from provided he is an Akwa Ibomite, he sees all as one and equal who deserve the best. It was this exceptional and rare quality in him, coupled with his integrity, honesty and perseverance that stood him out as one that people could reckon with as a rallying point for the emergence of Mr Udom Emmanuel while he lead the Transformation Initiative For the Empowerment of Ibom People.
Undoubtedly, the commissioner has brought his good nature to bear in the discharge of his ministerial responsibilities. His words are bankable assets. This is one man who will not make any promise he is not sure of fulfilling them in the name of politics. He is one man who makes himself available and accessible to all. His humility and simplicity is second to none.
He allows sincerity and truth to be his watch words. These explains why the Akwa Ibom state ministry of works today has become a destination point to many who desire to tap from the compassionate and humane disposition of the amiable works commissioner.
Within the public sphere, there is a renewed sense of trust and belief that the Ephraim Inyang led Ministry of Works is working its socks off to provide adequate, safe and well maintained public works infrastructure and services such as public buildings, electro-mechanical installations that support socio-economic transformation and development of the State. He personally embarks on site inspections and supervision.
Given Mr Ephraim Inyang’s rich experience, exposure, commitment to work ethics, ability to interpret the vision of the Governor, it is settled that this government will deliver in respect of critical infrastructure at reasonable cost. The ministry is employing the intellectual, management and material resources available to it to make the state roads functional all the time under the dynamic leadership of Akparawa Ephraim Inyang.
He was trained as a Chemist at the University of Ibadan where he graduated in 1988 with B.Sc. degree in Chemistry (Second Class Upper Division). In 1989, while serving in the Nigeria Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Ephraim worked as a Chemist with the Nigeria Railway Corporation. Upon completion of his NYSC programme, he was enlisted on August 31, 1990, into the Nigeria Customs Service as an Assistant Superintendent of Customs.
In his about 25 years in active service, Ephraim has maintained an excellent track record of performance, discipline and working knowledge across various departments of the Service. Between 1992-1995, he served as Special Assistant to the O/C Terminal, Apapa Port, Lagos and was transferred to Bauchi Area Command, where he served as the Commands’ Public Relations Officer for over two years. Thereafter, he was redeployed to Apapa Port Command, where he served as Staff Officer of the largest Container terminal in West Africa for four years and was responsible for staff and operations management. His outstanding performance in this assignment which led to the turn-around of the revenue profile of the terminal led to his immediate promotion.
Similarly, when he was assigned to lead the team that repositioned the Port Express Bonded Terminal as O/C Terminal, he was credited with exceptional performance for changing the fortune of the hitherto moribund terminal within a record time of one month which earned him several management commendations for the achievement. This feat was repeated when he moved to Tincan Island Port, and was subsequently posted to Classic Bonded Terminal that had closed down. Ephraim turned-around the situation within three months and posted very impressive revenue stream. He went on to serve as O/C terminal there before he was posted to FANO bonded terminal before he became actively involved in politics.
Furthermore, Ephraim was offered admission into the re-known MBA Programme of the University of Lagos where he bagged a Masters in Business Administration degree (MBA) in 2014. At every point, Akparawa Ephraim drew huge crowd and mobilized support for a course he believes in, the Peoples Democratic Party especially during the just concluded elections. He has proven to people that it is possible to believe in a cause, pursue it convincingly and remain gallant. This is a spirit that is generally admired in the man Inyang. It is important to note that Inyang has never pursued politics of bitterness or acrimony.
As we all know that the focus of this government under the watch of His Excellency, Deacon Udom Emmanuel is about the welfare of the people. The central vision of this government is about the people’s welfare. The government is asking: how can people be made to live their lives meaningfully? That is the concept of this government and this is driven in all sphere of life through infrastructure, and basically; through human empowerment. And when you talk about infrastructure, you have to think Akparawa Ephraim Inyang, who is piloting the affairs of the Ministry of Works as the Commissioner who has been very pragmatic and has brought his pedigree to bear in his job.
Today, we can see vividly the number of the kilometers of roads that has been constructed and of those still under construction as well as those earmarked for construction. Akparawa Inyang is not just doing it but he is ensuring that those things are done with accountability and transparency. That is one of the hallmarks of this government and Ephraim Inyang is the one championing the aspect of infrastructural development and maintenance. And you can see the flair, you can see the skills, you can see the level of commitment that the man has brought to bear in the discharge of his official assignments,
Within his short stay in office as commissioner, he worked hard to recorded several miles stone of achievement in justifying the mandate of his people. In view of his outstanding pedigree, numerous contributions and selfless services, Ephraim Inyang is currently serving in the Executive Council of Akwa Ibom State Government as Honorable Commissioner for Works. Thanks to goodness, thanks to Deacon Udom Emmanuel who saw and brought this man out for the work of his fatherland. He is happily married to Mrs. Ime Ephraim Inyang and the union is blessed with five children.
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