Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel
Ibeno youths protest illegal’ redrawing of Akwa Ibom map
[From ANIEKAN ANIEKAN, Calabar]
Youths in Ibeno Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State have protested against what they call the “illegal” redrawing of the map of Akwa Ibom state.
The youths said their protest stems from reports that the State House of Assembly ceded 16 gazetted communities of Ibeno to neighbouring Onna and Eket local government areas of the state.
As a result of this illegality, the youths have vowed to strongly this and pleaded with state government not to force them to react negatively.
Kingsley Asuquo, the chairman and spokesman urged the government to suspend the plan.
He said the recent enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act by the president should not be used against the people of Ibeno Local Government Area.
“We are completely dissatisfied and the youths are very agitated. At this point you can consider that we have been pushed to the wall and it has come to a point where we cannot take it any longer.
“It’s not a crime to come from an oil producing community; we did not put ourselves in this place. God Almighty puts us here in Ibeno and we have the divine right to enjoy anything that comes from the oil producing community.
“This should not be the reason why we should become the victim of everything form of sharing.
“The endorsement of the Petroleum Industry Act as a working document of Mr President is not a yardstick for everything in the state to be upturned against us. We say no!.
“The map Akwa Ibom state is having today was not made today, that map has been there for over 30-years. Nobody agitated, nobody complained, nobody proposed for a change and remapping.
“Suddenly after the PIA has been passed, people began to impose themselves, trying to tear Ibeno apart by initiating new map to make them an oil producing community.
“We did not make ourselves an oil Producing community; it’s by divine grace that we are here,so we disagree, we will resist this to any level, any attempt to take any plot of Ibeno from us, this is our ancestral property.
“We have seen a new map that has turned us apart completely. We are saying no to that,be it our local government chairman, be it the state government, we are saying no.”
Another youth leader, Friday Ubong called on the state government to stop creating unnecessary tension between the Ibeno and it neighbouring local government areas.
