Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has called on the Ibibios to unite after a succession tussle threatened to tear apart the apex body of the group.
The Ibibios found mainly in Akwa Ibom State are believed to be the fourth largest ethnic group in the country after the Hausa/Fulani, Yorubas and the Ibos.
Checks revealed that the tenure of the traditional headship of the Ibibios occupied by the Ntisong Ibiobio has since expired and efforts by the kingmakers to select any leader have not been successful.
It was gathered that while a group believes that the tenure is for a lifetime, another group believes it is tenured adding that since other Ntisongs had been elected in the past, the tenure of the present occupant should not be an exception.
Speaking at the inauguration of a building complex to serve as the head office and rally point for the Ibibios called Asan Ibibio, Udom expressed regret that he could not furnish the edifice because of the leadership tussle.
According to him, he would have provided the betting furniture in the complex but could not do so because he does not know who should sit on the exalted chair.
He called on the kingmakers to resolve the crisis saying that he was willing to provide the furniture as soon as the leadership tussle was resolved.
Explaining that the Asan Ibibio was built to strengthen the heritage and unity of the Ibibio people and by extension, the entire Akwa Ibom state, he called on Akwa Ibom people to shun divisiveness and fragmentation of the Ibibio nationality, describing such as deviation from the ideals of the Ibibio forebears who paid no attention to trivial differences that may end up reducing into segment the very elaborate Ibibio nation which forms the fourth largest ethnic group in Nigeria.
“Ibibio connotes the entire Akwa Ibom. Ibibio does not refer to the tribal sentiments some people are trying to play with now. Not at all.
“We had the likes of Chief Sampson Udoidiong, Akpabio, Attah, and others who formed what was then called the Ibibio State Union, with which they started the agitation for the Akwa Ibom State we have today.
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“So, when we are talking about the Ibibios, it refers to the entire Akwa Ibom people and even some across the rivers,” he stated.
The State Governor-elect, Umo Eno, described Udom Emmanuel as a pride of the Ibibios in whom the fathers were pleased.
He said that inauguration of the Asan marks the beginning of a new era of unity for the Ibibios and urged all Akwa Ibom people to bury disaffection that may thwart growth and development of the state.
Reviewing the project, Commissioner for Works and Fire Service, Eno Ibanga, said the auditorium, completed with three galleries, has a 2,500-seater capacity, larger than any event centre in the state.
He added that the facility has seven offices, three conference venues of 200 capacity each, twenty five conveniences and a parking space that can accommodate 200 cars.
In his goodwill message, the President General Akwa Ibom State Traditional Rulers Council and Oku Ibom Ibibio, Solomon Etuk, described the Governor’s gesture as housing and covering the nakedness of the Ibibios and prayed the blessings of the fathers of the land on him.
