Nsit Ubium Assembly Seat: Can Umana’s Camp Still Look Beyond Onofiok Luke? By Darlington David Who will be the next Assemblyman representing Nsit Ubium State Constituency in the State House of Assembly in 2015. Darlington David tours the area and brings to bare its politics and intrigues. Nsit Ubium Local Government Area is blessed with heavy political names in the state such as a frontline governorship aspirant in the state who is also the immediate past Secretary to Akwa Ibom State Government (SSG), Obong Umana Okon Umana; a Member of the Federal House of Representatives, Mr. Daniel Akpan; a former Member of the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Rev. Effanga Inyang; a former Senator of the Federal Republic, Senator Effiong Bob; a former Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Elder Aniefiok Thompson; a former Chairman of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Ambassador Sam Edem; the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) Chapter Chairman, Akparawa Inyang Anyang; Mr. Solomon Udofia, also known as SWACOM; and a former Member of the old Cross River State House of Assembly in the Second Republic, Chief Inyang Eno. Other notable political names from the area include a retired Captain of the Nigerian Army who is also a Special Assistant to the State Governor on Security, Captain Iniobong Ekong; a Special Assistant to the State Governor on Petroleum Matters, Otuekong Emmanuel Ibiok; a Personal Assistant to the Governor on General Duties, Mr. Inyang Unya; a Permanent Secretary in the State Ministry of Finance, Elder Nse Ekefre, and his wife, Helen, who was a Vice Chairman of the Council; and former Chairmen of the Council, Barr. Essien Esema, and Elder Enefiok Ekpo. The area, by politics and tradition, has two Clans of Nsit and Ubium. The former is made up of four Wards politically demarcated as Ibiakpan Oboetim (two Wards), Ndiya (one Ward) and Itreto (one Ward), where the Member representing the area in the State House of Assembly, Barr. Onofiok Luke comes from. The latter is the largest and is made up of six Wards which are further subdivided into two distinctive political zones of Ubium North and Ubium South with three wards each. Currently, the alleged second term bid of the incumbent lawmaker is generating side whispers all over the State Constituency with his not too visible opponents insisting on the age-long rotation principle between the two clans. His supporters are arguing that such notion should be discarded and that performance should be the yardstick. But a youth leader and a beneficiary of Comrade Luke’s benevolence, an indigene of Ubium, dared his kinsmen, saying: “Onofiok Luke has done creditably well. He should be allowed to run for a second term irrespective of which side of the divide own the turn.” From the grapevine, the name of the Local Government Council boss, Mr. Ekpedeme Akpan, an indigene of Ubium, is heard from the lips of a greater majority, though in very low tones as a possible contender for the office, but Barr. Luke seems to be openly enjoying the support of the youths, elders and some decision makers in the state who are believed to be secretly mobilizing supports for him to ensure that he emerges unopposed in 2015. The 35 years old Assemblyman through activism at the University of Uyo became elected as President of the Students Union Government (SUG), and that unionism struggle became a defining factor for him and later catapulted himself to positions such as the Speaker of the West African Students Parliament, Personal Assistant to a former Member representing Ibeno/Esit Eket in the State House of Assmbly, Late Ernest Ukochio II, represented the State in the inaugural Nigerian Youth Parliament (NYP) where he was elected the pioneer Speaker and Personal Assistant to Governor Godswill Akpabio on Protocol Matters. But for Elder Aniefiok Thompson (WINMOS), who won the Assembly seat to represent the area on the platform of PDP in 1999 and got re-elected in 2003, politicians in the Local Government Area have always prided the area as the only one practicing rotation strictly among the three Local Government Areas in the Federal Constituency. The said rotation of political offices in the area came to be in mid 1998 sequel to the new dawn of democracy in the country. To kick start the rotation principle, Elder Thompson, from Ubium, took the Assembly seat while Elder Enefiok Ekpo, from Nsit, was made the Local Government Chairman. The practice became a standard with the Local Government Chairmanship and the State House of Assembly seats moving between the two divides of the Council. According to political observers, all that may be history if the sitting Member’s incubated ambition for a second term becomes a reality in 2015. During Comrade Luke’s electioneering in 2011, WINMOS, a great supporter of his, had said: “Rotation in our Local Government has to do with the maturity of the PDP leadership. We took time to educate our people that zoning or rotation should be maintained because it’s a good omen for free and fair election.” In 2002, before WINMOS repented to become a rotation advocate in the area, he was said to have thwarted the said principle when he defeated Mr. Solomon Udofia, from Nsit, who felt it was their turn for the Assembly seat by rotation. The principle was technically eliminated as the Chairmanship position went to Mr. Daniel Akpan, an Accountant with ExxonMobil also an indigene of Ubium. Hence, the two strong seats went to Ubium. The original agreed principle was, however, reinstalled in 2006. Then Daniel Akpan completed his tenure at the Council and immediately swapped over to the State House of Assembly, though with a little contention by other Ubium aspirants. For the honour of that principle, in 2008, the Chairmanship seat became an Nsit Affair, with Surveyor Chris Ekpo emerging the Chairman of the Council. The deal was kept in 2011 and Daniel Akpan, one of the advocates of that arrangement who had once said rotation was sacrosanct, completed his tenure, which he had vowed to keep for a term, and left for a higher position, the Federal House of Representatives, hence, Barr. Luke, from Nsit, succeeded him. Today, an indigene of Ubium, the son of Late Comrade Amos Akpan, the first Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state, Mr. Ekpedeme Akpan, is the Chairman of the Council, a position, observers maintain, was single handedly, facilitated by the “political leader” of the area, Obong Umana Okon Umana. It is this believes that has given rise to speculations that the former SSG, an indigene of Nsit, wants the Assembly seat to go to Ubium as the second term ambition of the Assemblyman may not go down well with his. To other political observers, it is an open secret that if Barr. Luke returns to the House, he is likely going to grasp the position of Speaker and this may not be in tandem with the interest of the former Chief Scribe of the State. Some others believe the Assemblyman, who is currently heading one of the most important committees in the House, Committee on Finance and Appropriation, may likely wield support to another governorship aspirant to achieve his ambition. What becomes of the agreed arrangement in 2015 is yet to be unveiled going by recent “political events” in the state. But going by the political permutation of the area, the event that took place in 2002 is envisaged. Of all his election campaign promises, like reviewing some of the laws of the state, giving a legal backing to the free education policy, amendment of the Integrated Farmers’ Law, among others, the lawmaker has only been able to sponsor the passage into law a bill for the establishment of the State HIV/AIDS Control Agency. In terms of infrastructural development and sustainable empowerment, the lawmaker is said to have set up a foundation, The Akpan Luke Legacy Foundation, aimed at identifying and supporting youths from his Nsit Ubium constituency. The lawmaker, some people in the area said, is an intelligent and focused representative, especially, given his thought on national issues. Some of his thoughts include: “Politics and sentiments should be kept at bay with national interests made to tower above political sentiments and personal or group interests. The general welfare of Nigerians must be what underscores interrogations and responses during hearing sessions. Shouldn’t we learn better by the American example where self-interest is completely downplayed for national interests?” On the role of lawmaking, Barr. Luke is reported to have said: “More important than anything is the fact that we must go back to our traditional role as a pressure group in order to protect the rights of our members. Too many times we have seen our populace throw away the baby with the bath water and obviously like most things in Nigeria, the constitution amendment has generated a lot of controversies as some people are trying to introduce very obnoxious items emanating from their idiosyncrasies, in a bid to derail the process. We must be determined to follow this amendment process to a successful conclusion.” Today, in Nsit Ubium, despite losing the seat of the Chief Scribe to the State Government to ONNA, politics is taken very serious. It is indeed the business of everybody. It is, therefore, little wonder that the alleged second term campaign of Comrade Luke is generating a great interest among the people. The Local Government Council boss is rumoured to be interested in the seat but his ambition is provoking arguments for and against. Can Obong Umana’s camp still look beyond the incumbent lawmaker, as speculated? Of Ekpedeme Akpan and Onofiok Luke, who is a joker? The people would decide. 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Posted on: Tue, 06 Aug 2013 12:22:27 +0000
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