A former Senator and distinguished chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), John Akpanudoedehe, has known as for the quick resignation of Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State.
The demand follows a wave of protests by the Ekid individuals over the state authorities’s controversial dealing with of the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve dispute.
Akpanudoedehe, who beforehand served because the Nationwide Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), accused the Governor of using high-handed techniques to silence dissent.
The previous lawmaker’s outburst was triggered by the arrest and subsequent remand of an Ekid princess, God’sown Monday Udoito, who reportedly accused the state authorities of land grabbing and misappropriation of proceeds from the forest reserve.
“You may’t be performing as a dictator in a democracy,” Akpanudoedehe said throughout a briefing on Sunday evening. He insisted that the Governor should deal with the Ekid individuals with dignity somewhat than utilizing state safety to intimidate these defending their ancestral heritage.
The stress within the state reached a boiling level on Monday when youths below the aegis of the Unified Youths of Ekid Nation took to the streets of Eket.
Defying stern warnings from the police, the protesters carried placards demanding the discharge of Princess Udoito and an finish to what they described because the “secret sale” of the forest reserve to personal buyers.
Nevertheless, the state authorities, by the Lawyer-Basic and Commissioner for Justice, Uko Udom (SAN), has maintained that the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve belongs to the federal government.
The state cited the 1918 Privy Council judgment and the 1930 Forest Reserve Order as authorized foundations for its authority. Nevertheless, the Ekid individuals proceed to say possession, asserting that the forest is their ancestral land.
Akpanudoedehe argued that the Governor’s incapacity to tolerate opposing views makes him unfit for workplace. He particularly pointed to the arrest of the feminine activist as an indication of intolerance, questioning why the Governor would go to such lengths in opposition to a citizen defending communal land.
“When you didn’t arrest your daughter, who accused you of killing their mom, why would you arrest a girl who is simply defending their ancestral land? I believe the governor ought to resign from workplace if he can not tolerate dissenting opinions,” the previous Senator added.
Whereas the Commissioner of Police, Baba Azare, has warned in opposition to any try and affect the judicial course of by protests, the Ekid youths have vowed to proceed their agitation till their rights are revered and their daughter is launched from Uyo jail.
In a associated growth, the Ekid Peoples Union (EPU) just lately rejected the “terrorist” label utilized by Governor Eno to explain these opposing the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Freeway route by the disputed forest.
The union insisted that defending their setting and land by lawful dissent doesn’t equate to felony exercise.