By Assam Abia.
Akwa Esop Imaisong Ibibio, the apex socio-cultural body of the Ibibio ethnic nationality, has thrown its weight behind the recent position of the President-General of the Ekid People’s Union (EPU), Dr Samuel Udonsak, insisting that the Oro ethnic group has no direct Atlantic coastline and that no part of Ibibio ancestral land should be ceded for the proposed Oro-Obolo State.
The organisation stated this in a communique issued after an emergency meeting in Uyo, where prominent Ibibio elders deliberated on what they described as recent “misleading and provocative” statements credited to the Oro Union.
The statement, jointly signed by the Ntisong IV of Akwa Esop Imaisong Ibibio, Obong P. J. Okon, and the Secretary-General, Mkpisong Obong Tony Okpon, affirmed that Dr Udonsak merely reiterated the long-standing position of the Ibibio people during his address at the inauguration of the 12th International President and Executive Council of Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio International on July 24.
According to the organisation, historical records, official maps and judicial pronouncements have never recognised Oro Nation as a littoral community with direct access to the Atlantic Ocean.
It alleged that the agitation for the proposed Oro-Obolo State was aimed at annexing parts of Southern Ibibio ancestral lands to create territorial contiguity with Eastern Obolo and secure access to the Atlantic coastline.
The group warned that allowing such territorial claims would disconnect the Ibibio from the Atlantic coast and adversely affect the economic interests of Akwa Ibom State.
Akwa Esop Imaisong Ibibio condemned what it described as personal attacks on Dr Udonsak following his remarks, maintaining that his comments reflected the collective position consistently presented by the organisation in memoranda submitted to the National Assembly on constitutional amendments and state creation.
While recognising the constitutional right of the Oro, Obolo and Ibeno peoples to seek the creation of a state of their choice, the organisation insisted that no village, community or any portion of Ibibio Local Government Areas should form part of any proposed Oro-Obolo State.
It further maintained that historical and legal evidence established the Ibibio as the indigenous owners of ancestral lands in Esit Eket, Eket, Onna, Ikot Abasi and Mkpat Enin Local Government Areas, describing those areas as integral parts of Ibibio territory.
The organisation also rejected allegations that the Oro ethnic group had been marginalised in Akwa Ibom, arguing that available records of political representation and public appointments did not support such claims.
On the issue of the governorship, Akwa Esop Imaisong Ibibio said the rotation of the office among the state’s three senatorial districts remained a political convention and should not be interpreted to mean that the governorship must automatically go to an Oro indigene whenever it rotates to Eket Senatorial District.
It urged all parties to embrace dialogue and mutual respect, while calling for an end to statements capable of heightening ethnic tension in the state.
