A civil society organisation in Akwa Ibom State, Open Forum, has decried what it termed as “over politicisation of the system” by government officials in the state.
It also condemned the hoisting of the All Progressives Congress, APC, flag at the refurbished Ibom Plaza side by side with Nigerian and Akwa Ibom State flags.
In a statement endorsed by its founder, Mathew Kofi Okono, the group said such display was a strange development which “must not be allowed”.
According to Okono, Ibom Plaza was amongst the numerous initiatives of the Obong Victor Attah administration, a public recreation centre and not a political party office, adding that if allowed unchecked, party flags would be flown at the House of Assembly, courts, ministries, departments and agencies of government, as well as schools and hospitals in the state.
He reasoned that after elections, elected officials do not only represent their partisan political parties but the people.
The statement read, “Governance abhors partisanship. The inability to separate partisan politics from governance is responsible for the intractable challenges bedeviling development and people-centered governance at all levels in the country.
“The idea to fly the APC flag, side by side the Nigerian and Akwa Ibom flags at the Ibom Plaza is a strange development that cannot be defended, except, as another poorly thought-out means of promoting a partisan political party at a state infrastructure.
*If allowed, partisan political flags will be flown at the House of Assembly,Courts, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) schools and hospitals in the State.”
Okono, therefore, called for a law that would stop the flying of political party flags in Government Houses, Presidential Villa (If applicable) and on official vehicles of state governors and the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He also stated that government houses and offices should not be used for party meetings saying, “Partisan political party meetings and flags should be restricted to party secretariats and gatherings.”
Speaking on the perennial controversy surrounding the ownership of Stubb Creek reserve between Ibeno and Eket people as well as routing of the Coastal High Way through the forest reserve, the group urged governor Umo Eno to request the Federal Ministry of Works (FMW) under Sen David Umahi as Minister to publish the route of the Coastal Highway to clear all doubts
He further urged him to set up a high-powered Think-Tank/Mediation Committee to fashion out a possible sustainable solution to the Stubbs Creek crisis by reaching out to the Akwa Ibom Elders Council chaired by Obong Victor Attah, the Father of Modern Akwa Ibom.
He said interested partie including the governor should be exempted from the committee while some patriotic Akwa Ibom indigenes with institutional knowledge of the issue and integrity should be co-opted into the team.
According to him, the terms of reference of the team should include but not limited to identifying the local governments with interest in the Stubbs Creek, existing judgements on the land, any illegal allocations, development or encroachment in the Stubbs Creek, and financial involvement of persons and institutions behind such illegalities, if any.
