By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
Executive chairman of Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross River State, Hon Effiong Etim, has alleged that those clamouring and agitating for the delisting of Bakassi Local Government Area from the list of local governments in Nigeria are not indigenes of the local government area, but strange elements with the ultimate aim of destabilizing the entire local council.
The council chairman made the allegations in an interactive session with our correspondent on Thursday in Calabar.
Recall that some individuals in the local government area had written a petition to the Federal Government, agitating for the scrapping of the local government area and delisting it from the list of the 774 council areas in the country.
Reacting to the development, Hon Etim stressed that the clamour does not represent the position of his people, but thought of a group of stranger elements, who had fallen out of the favour of the people of Bakassi due to their selfish reasons.
The council chairman averred that the agitation is politically motivated by a group of individuals who had fallen out of favour politically and are using the issue to curry favour from government.
He said, “Some of them are stranger elements whose either of their parents is from Bayelsa State with no interest of our local council at heart.
“These category of people don’t have even a lockel-up store. I give you an instance: when Iyadim Iyadim, the immediate past council chairman of Bakassi was serving as chairman, did he ask for the delisting of the local government? No! He didn’t.
“What he and his group are doing is not new to me. Because it’s in their character. Once they fall out of favour with power they begin to look for a way to cause confusion.
“It’s money and attention that they are looking for from the governor. This administration will not grant them such attention.
“They think they can sit somewhere and begin to plan on how to overheat the system. A lot of them were there in the council and enjoyed the council during the Saviour Nyong administration.
“Immediately we brought Dr Ekpo Ekpo to serve as council chairman for the local government area, they began making trouble.
“They began agitation that Bakassi should be delisted. They made the place hot, and somehow ungovernable for Dr Ekpo.
“Immediately they succeeded in putting in their person, one Mrs Edisua, the place became calm. We didn’t hear any noise that Bakassi should be delisted or it’s headquarters be moved to another location.
“Just as they lost out of power and I took over the mantle of leadership in the council, they came again with agitation that Bakassi should be delisted.
“Once they feel that the man at the helms of affairs is immune to compromise, they resume the heat.”
The council chairman urged government at all levels not to listen to these agitators, insisting, “I say don’t listen to these group of trouble makers because they aren’t from Bakassi. They are stranger elements who come from elsewhere to forment trouble.”
Reaction to the allegation levelled against him by the Bakassi incumbent council chairman, the immediate past council chairman, Iyadim denied all the allegations, describing them as baseless.
