By Idongesit Ashameri - Uyo
Eket People’s Union, a socio-cultural organisation of the Eket nation, has expressed grave concern over what it called deliberate and conspicuous exclusion from the list of delegates to the National Conference.
At a press conference in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, the National President Eket People’s Union, Prof Asindi Asindi, consider as glaring injustice the exclusion of the two nominees forwarded by the people.
Asindi, who acknowledged that Nigeria has not less than 250 ethnic nationalities, said that if this number is not represented at the conference in conjunction with other groups, then the conference may lack balance and work against posterity.
“We have been assured by the Federal Government in its publication that ethnic nationalities would be given due consideration at the conference but this appears not to be so. Eket Nation greatly contributes to the economic growth of Nigeria as bulk of the resources sustaining the country comes from Ekid shores,” he said.
“There is serious imbalance in the Akwa Ibom State representation at the conference. What we have observed from the list lends credence to the assertion of some selfish and myopic people that Akwa Ibom rests on a tripod of Ibibio, Anang and Oron to the detriment of other ethnic nationalities in the state,” he added.
While arguing that some of the delegates listed for the conference ought not to have been there, Asindi described them as recycled faces, whose ideas and positions on matters may have over the years stagnated the country to the detriment of the youths with new ideas to move the nation forward.
Although admitting that Chief Ndueso Essien is from Eket Nation, Asindi argued that he was not a nominee of the people but of the Federal Government. He however viewed the exclusion of Senator Etang Edet Umoyo and Professor Desmond E. Wilson, earlier nominated by the people as another step to malign and oppress Eket.
“Our protest is predicted 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 agitation”. he appealed