Community to Gov Eno: Forget new committee, implement rulings on Ekid land

By Soni Daniel, Abuja

Ekid-speaking radical of Akwa Ibom State person again asked Governor Umo Eno to instrumentality indispensable steps to instrumentality assorted tribunal rulings affirming their ownership of the Stubbs Creek Forest, alternatively than raising a caller committee to adjudicate connected the substance with their Ibeno neighbours.

The Ekid radical importune that the onshore substance had since been resolved by the courts and does not request immoderate further involution by the authorities government, arsenic the rulings are wide and unambiguous.

The presumption of the assemblage is contained successful a communique issued astatine the extremity of their consultative gathering held astatine Atan and Palace of the Paramount Ruler of Eket and made disposable to journalists connected Monday successful Abuja.

The communique was jointly signed by the Paramount Ruler, Obong ECD Abia, the President General of Ekit Peoples Union, Dr. Sam Udonsak, the National Secretary of the union, Barr. Bassey Dan-Abia and cardinal stakeholders of Ekid Nationality.

At the expanded stakeholders meeting, the radical rejected Akwa Ibom State governor’s projected committee connected Stubbs Creek Forest, saying that it was unnecessary and suspicious and requested for urgent implementation of erstwhile tribunal rulings connected the matter.

The communique noted, “Apart from the suspicious composition, the stakeholders recovered the committee to beryllium spurious and unnecessary successful presumption of the galore tribunal judgments spanning implicit a period and the Statutes of the Legislature which the authorities has refused to implement.

“The Stakeholders person not recovered immoderate morganatic ground for mounting up a caller Committee to reappraisal the tribunal judgments, including those of the Privy Council successful London of 1916 -1918. It has not recovered immoderate explicable crushed to reappraisal the statutes of the legislature connected this matter. The Stakeholders judge that the projected committee is an avenue to surreptitiously screen the amerciable onshore deals successful the Stubbs Creek and perchance petition much concessions of onshore to the Ibeno people.

“We privation to marque it abundantly wide that the Ekid radical volition not marque immoderate much concessions to Ibeno successful the Stubbs Creek Forest, arsenic we person already conceded truthful overmuch since their accomplishment connected the Qua Iboe River estuary.

“By the aforesaid reasoning, the Ekid radical cannot clasp the Governor’s Committee connected Stubbs Creek Forest. The Ekid stakeholders volition proceed to basal by the existing tribunal judgments affirming their ownership of the wood and its appurtenances. The Ekid radical volition firmly defy immoderate effort astatine the further balkanisation of the Forest, whether for the payment of Ibeno oregon immoderate different vested interest.

“The Government should instrumentality its determination to demolish each amerciable structures and acceptable the wood escaped for a coordinated improvement successful conjunction with the morganatic onshore owners. Akwa Ibom State Government should bash the close happening and halt mounting up different Committee and halt beating astir the bush,” the radical said.

“To recognize wherefore the Ekid Stakeholders cannot enactment Governor Umo Eno’s Committee connected the Stubbs Creek Forest, 1 lone needs to gully a parallel with a akin nationalist dispute. After the International Court of Justice ceded the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon and rendered Cross River State landlocked, the Cross River State Government began agitating for the instrumentality of 77 lipid wells belonging to Akwa Ibom. In pursuit of this, Cross River dragged Akwa Ibom to the Supreme Court, but mislaid successful a landmark judgment. Today, adjacent arsenic Cross River renews its claims connected those lipid wells, settled conclusively by the apex court, nary 1 would expect the Akwa Ibom State Government to invited a Federal Government committee to renegotiate the ownership of the lipid wells.

“Ekid radical would similar the Governor to formed his caput backmost to the events of 1978 erstwhile the past Cross River State Government acceptable up the Justice Olatawura Judicial Commission of Enquiry connected the ownership of Stubbs Creek Forest. Oron hired the precocious Chief Awolowo arsenic her Counsel, portion the precocious Chief M. A. Ekpe and others represented Eket. On the opening time of the Commission’s sitting, Eket done her Counsel, Chief M. A. Ekpe, tabled the 1918 judgement of the Privy Council earlier the Commission and argued that nether the ineligible rule of “res judicata” the Commission could not inquire into the ownership of Stubbs Creek Forest which had been settled by the highest tribunal astatine the time. Chief Awolowo, a long-standing lawyer of precocious integrity who believed truthful overmuch successful the sanctity of tribunal judgments, agreed...