The chairmen and members of Itu and Ukanafun Local Governments of Akwa Ibom State have been sent packing.
The sack notice contained in a letter signed by the secretary to the State Government, Elder EtekambaUmoren and made available to newsmen was approved by the state Governor, Deacon Udom Emmanuel.
The letter directed the affected local government chairmen to hand over to the heads of service within twenty four hours, failure to attract dire consequences.
The Tide learnt that the sack of the chairperson and members of transition committee of Itu Local Government might not be unconnected with the allegation of financial impropriety levelled against Deaconess Elsie Esara by the members.
We recall that sometime ago, members of Itu transition committee petitioned the AkwaIbom House of Assembly over financial recklessness of the chairman. Upon the strength of the petition, Deaconess Esara was invited by the Assembly to defend herself. She was invited twice but refused to honour the invitation. Irked by the arrogance displayed by Deaconess Esara, the Assembly threatened to get her arrested which finally swept her off balance causing her to appear before the relevant Assembly Committee.
And when she did, she only succeeded in adding salt to the injury by insulting the integrity of the Assembly when she shocked the committee by saying,‘the political leader of my local government area, Sen. Anietie Okon advised me not to honour the invitation.
Not satisfied with her defence, the House recommended to Governor Udom Emmanuel to relieve her of the position immediately as she had proven incapable of holding a public office. The Clerk of the Assembly was directed to dispatch the recommendation letter to the governor with the speed of light to reflect the urgency of the matter while relevant stakeholders were also copied.
For that of Ukanafun, nobody was left in doubt considering the recent assassination of the secretary of that committee, Late Elder Atakpa who used to call himself a ‘farmer’. Even though details on the assassination still remain sketchy, it is a known fact that it was politically motivated.
Attempt to get any politician from Ukanafun to speak on this sad development proved abortive. But one thing remains certain that Late Atakpa was killed by the enemies within the political class just like the former deputy speaker, Rt . Hon. Okon Uwah was hacked when he went to campaign for his election.
Akaiso Akaiso, Uyo