*accused of diverting council funds
* insensitive to rising insecurity in area
By Ubong Sampson – Uyo
About 10 months ago when Aniekpon Ekpo was sworn in as chairman of Mkpat Enin local government area, he had boasted about breathing fresh air into the area. But recent developments show Mr. Ekpo’s air must have turned out a choking smoke to his people.
In a petitioned signed by nine out of 14 councillors in the area, the Mkpat Enin council chairman, Aniekpon Ekpo, was accused of several cases of financial misappropriation, theft, abuse of office, among other allegations.
Mkpat Enin is a local government area in Akwa Ibom south (Eket) senatorial district.
According to the councillors in the petition, Ekpo, since assuming office in December 2020, is yet to record any event where he gave accounts of revenue in millions of naira internally generated by the council, as well as how it is expended.
Also, the petition accused Ekpo of attempting to stealing the council’s asset, referring to an event where the chairman had arranged a proxy means for a sound proof generator belonging to the council to be smuggled out. The councillors hinted in the petition that it took the intervention of some observant youths to save the said generator which they claim, the chairman had intended to smuggle out for sale.
According to the legislative council members, the smuggling agents of the chairman were at the point of being lynched by the youths when officers of the Nigerian police from the area’s divisional office, came to their rescue.
While stressing that the local government has no power to obtain loan for any project, the councillors said the chairman had claimed to have been using proceeds of internally generated revenue to service loans facilities which the council had obtained. Describing the act as an affront to the law according to section 68 of the local government administration laws in the state, the councillors maintained the chairman had failed to follow the required due process.
Still in the petition, the lawmakers accused the chairman of failing to present on any occasion, statements of accounts capturing the income and expenditures of the council, even as they noted, the council has been receiving and expending funds.
Furthermore, the councillors expressed worries over the security apparatus in the area which they said is in a state of total collapse. According to them, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area had complained that the chairman has only had one security meeting all through his near one year on office. This nonchalant attitude to security issues, the petitioners claimed, has led to rising cases of robbery, kidnapping and other forms of crimes which the petition said, has been on open scale in the area in recent times.
Referring to sections 66 subsection1, and 63 subsection 3 of the local government administration laws in the state which the petition claimed the chairman has contravened, the petitioners prayed the Akwa Ibom state House of Assembly to suspend the chairman from office while summoning both parties for fair hearing and onward investigation into the case.
Ekpo, even as of press time, did not respond to messages sent to his phone line — 0703*****95, to have him respond to the allegations against him.
Meanwhile, the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has announced commencement of investigation into the matter.
This was disclosed through a release by the office of the chairman, House committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mark Esset.
The release noted that the committee has commenced an investigative proceeding on the petition against the Mkpat Enin Local Government Chairman.
The release admitted that the petition, dated October 6, 2021, borders on financial impropriety, abuse of power and rising insecurity in the area, and was presented during the last plenary and referred by the Speaker, Aniekan Bassey to the committee who mandated the committee to report back to the House in 3 weeks.
“The meeting which was presided over by the chairman of the House Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs who also represents Nsit Atai State Constituency, Rt. Hon. Mark Esset, had in attendance members of the committee, the Mkpat Enin Local Government Chairman, Hon. Aniekpon Ekpo and 13 councillors of the Local Government.
“Mark Esset began the meeting by reading out the names of the 9 councillors who were signatories to the petition to ask if they maintained their earlier position to which they all accepted.
“He then proceeded to ask the Chairman of the Local Government if he was served and is aware of the contents of the petition.
“Having denied knowledge of the content of the petition and in keeping with the committee’s promise to accord all parties to the case fair hearing, the Mkpat Enin Local Government Chairman’s appeal for time was accepted by the Committee.
“Having discovered that attempts to serve the petition on the chairman was rebuffed by the secretary of the Local Government, the committee asked that the secretary of the Mkpat Enin Local Government be invited to the next session while the Clerk of the committee was asked to serve the chairman a copy of the petition, the release partly read.
The release further noted that upon being served, the committee had ordered the chairman to send a written reply to the committee on or before Wednesday, October 20, while adjourning the session to Friday, October 22 for further deliberations.
