Governor Umo Eno has been commended by a stinging activist, Mr Manfred Ekpe, for his good heart expressed in the Arise Compassionate Homes, one project per LGA scheme and the only genuine effort in state history to settle retirees and primary school teachers.
The activist who has recently been appointed the Akwa Ibom State chapter publicity secretary/spokesman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) spoke via phone conversation loudly to the governor on his open governance and particularly openness about the fraud perpetrated against the people in the Chinese market at Eket. He also commended the governor for running an all-inclusive government and upholding the fact that government does not belong to the political party in power but to the people.
Mr. Ekpe however, observed that government appointees and politicians in Eket have till now failed to key into the governor’s vision and policy of inclusive governance but have always undermined the good intentions of the governor thus making the governor look bad and ineffective in the eyes of the people. He opined that for instance, the governor gave instructions that all notable community stakeholders (not exclusively PDP leaders) in each local government should meet and nominate a project and a suitable site for phase 2 of the Arise Agenda’s one project per LGA but that in Eket a PDP chieftain called only his faction of PDP leaders for a meeting for that purpose. Even then, the meeting proposed the most suitable sites for the model health center due for Eket in phase 2, yet the PDP chieftain in connivance with some government appointees for reasons best known to them but which cannot be honest, rather settled for the rejected most unsuitable polyclinic site for the project and are now telling Eket people that the governor himself nominated the polyclinic site, which Ekpe says does not sound true because forcing bad choices on the people falls below the bar of this governor. Ekpe noted that their information is that names and signatures on the attendance register at the meeting were attached to the fraudulent recommendation and forwarded to the governor to misrepresent the polyclinic as the people’s choice.
The ADC spokesman outlines that the polyclinic location is the most unsuitable for the model primary health center for multidimensional reasons, namely : (1) the site is just about 200 meters from Immanuel General Hospital (2) replacing a polyclinic with the model health center will deprive the people of 4 LGAs of Eket, Esit Eket, Ibeno and Onna of an only public health facility specializing in maternity care (3) the polyclinic land is too small— less than 500 square meters and cannot accommodate the standard set for Umo Eno’s model health centers and (4) Eket being the 2nd largest city in the state has only three primary health facilities in the urban center inclusive of the polyclinic. Building a fresh primary health facility will make health care services nearer and more accessible to the people.
The activist wonders why community leaders who should at all times work for the best interest of the community rather choose to do the direct opposite, and laments that there are several suitable virgin lands within the Eket urban for the project such as the about 4000 square meters land at Afaha Eket, about 5000 square meters land at Nnung Uso all in Eket urban among several others but wonders why the choice for an existing polyclinic?
Mr. Ekpe concluded that there are rumors that the proposers of the polyclinic site do so for an ulterior motive to expend only a small amount of the contract sum to squeeze in a health center in the tiny polyclinic land thereby making undue gains at the detriment of society and thus undermining Governor Umo Eno’s good intentions. He observed that in the past years community leaders have always misled the governor such as misleading Ex Governor Udom Emmanuel on the Chinese market and on several uncompleted road projects in Eket where the governor was brought in to stand at one end to commission those uncompleted roads after which the contract sum was recovered in full and shared among a certain cabal leaving the project uncompleted till date. The same cabal will be telling the people that the governor refused to release funds for the roads thus pitching the people against the governor.
The ADC spokesman advises the governor to reject the polyclinic location as a fraud against the people and as the vision bearer should order the best location that serves the purpose of his vision in line with the people’s best interest. And the governor should also be careful to avoid politicians rubbishing his good intentions and image. Mr Ekpe says that ADC will form a formidable opposition in line with the tenets of democracy and shall criticize the government’s people’s policies not as an enemy or out of mischief but to keep the government on its toes to deliver dividends of democracy to the people, saying this governor deserves respect because he exudes respect in his dealings with the opposition.