National Confab: Ekid People Rejects Nduese Essien, Presents Des Wilson, Umoeyo PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE EKID PEOPLES UNION ON THE COMPOSITION OF DELEGATION TO THE 2014 NATIONAL CONFERENCE HELD ON WEDNESDAY,12TH MARCH, 2014 AT NUJ PRESS CENTRE, UYO. Gentlemen of the press, Ekid Peoples Union is the apex mouth piece of the Ekid Nation. It is a socio-cultural organization of Ekid Nation comprising Eket and Esit Eket Local Government Areas where Ekid ethnic nationalily is dominant. We saw the list of the delegates to the national conference published in the Daily Sun Newspaper of Friday, 7th March 2014 at P.53. 11 is of grave concern to us that Ekid representation as an ethnic nationality has deliberately and conspicuously been excluded from the list of delegates to this very important National Conference. We have been assured even by the Federal Government in the publication that ethnic nationalities given due consideration at the Conference but this appears would be NOT to be so. Nigeria has not less than 250 ethnic nationalities and if this number is represented at the Conference in conjunction with other groups, then it would have been a balanced conference to serve the interest of the people and posterity. The purpose of the Conference already looks defeated because of the numerous agitations and petitions flooding the newspapers. Some of the delegates listed for the conference ought not to be there. They are already being recycled to the detedment of those with new ideas to move Nigeria forward, It should be noted that Ekid Nation greatly contributes to the economic growth of Nigeria as bulk of the resources sustaining the country comes from Ekid shores. There is severe imbalance in the Akwa lbom State representation at the conference. What we have observed from the list of Akwa lbom State delegates lends credence to the assertion of some selfish and myopic people that Akwa lbom State rest on a tripod of lbibio, Anang and Oron to the deteriment of other ethnic nationalities in the state. This is an aberration that should be rejected out rightly and is the state. This is an aberration that should be rejected out rightly and is very unfortunate. Who started this tripod issue? In the Book, Ethnic Pluralism, Ethnicity and Ethnic Conflis in Nigeria, Prof. O. Otite has identified 7 ethnic nationalities in Akwa lbom State and these are listed as follows: Anang Andoni, Eket, lbeno, lbibio, Okobo and Oron Why should three amongst these be deemed to be superior to the rest? It will be terribly unfair and a glaring injustice for Ekid ethnic nationality to be excluded from this Conference. We will view this exclusion as another step to malign and oppress us. The Ekid nation stands by its earlier nominees sent to the Conference as follows; Senator Etang Edet Umoyo Professor Desmond E. Wilson. We have faith in their representation. Our protest is predicated on our firm belief that the Conference will address a lot of injustices and marginalization in the Country which will determine our continuity as a country after 100 years of existence. We are therefore calling on those concerned not to gloss over the numerous protests and agitations. There should be properly addressed or would be difficult and convincing to accept and be bounded by whatever decisions that will be reached at the Conference. We rest our case. Prof. Asindi A. Asindi National President
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 13:49:25 +0000
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