ALLEGATION OF APPOINTING HIS SON SENIOR LEGISLATIVE AID, SENATOR EKPEYONG’S SON OPENED UP TO CLEAR THE AIR, CALLED FOR PEACE AND CONCERTED EFFORT TO ATTAINED DEVELOPMENT

Politics.

Rumour, they say is always started by enemies, spread by ignorant people and believe by fools. This is the case with the controversial allegation of nepotism against the Senator representing Ikot Ekpene Senatorial district of the oil rich state of Akwa Ibom state, South-South, Nigeria.

Mariama Jabani    (Staff Reporter)

All things being equal, except for mischief makers and propaganda/falsehood merchants, the controversy raging in some quarter of the social media that the Senator representing Ikot Ekpene Senatorial district, Senator Chris Ekpeyong has appointed his son, Mr. Emmanuel Ekpeyong as his Senior Legislative Aid supposed to be finally and permanently put to rest with the reaching out of the Junior Ekpeyong to clear the air and to educate the public. Mr.
Ekpeyong Junior, who cut a picture of a all round knowledgeable mature, coordinated, tactful and non vindictive crises manager, reached out to us, after we have sufficiently peddled same news of the alleged nepotism accusation against his father to set the record straight and to educate the public on the constitutional workings of the appointment of staff of the Senator of the federal republic.

Our leaders have to work together to bring development to the people

Young Ekpeyong, whom we had thought would have remained in the trench and hauled stones back at us in retaliation for daring to criticized his father, like most of the people around him, who are actually responsible for stocking the fire for acrimony and misrepresentation, choose rather to go diplomatic, by peacefully reaching out to us to point out the true picture of things and call for understanding, unity and collaborative concerted effort to achieve development in Ikot Ekpene Senatorial district, Akwa Ibom state and Nigeria. Here is Mr. Ekpeyong’s rebuttal of the false allegation, and the true picture.    


Good evening...I came across a post you made on Facebook stating how Sen. Christopher Ekpenyong appointed his family relatives as his aides.Well, I wouldn’t have bothered writing this to you. But remembering that we’ve once had an encounter, I feel quite sad that someone I actually thought was of the same school of thought with me will reason the way you do.

The Civil Service Commission only allows a Legislature to appoint 5aides, Senior legislative aide, Legislative aide 1, Legislative Assistant, Personal Assistant and Secretary. His Senior Legislative aide hails from Essien Udim who’s a lawyer and has had the Legislative experience as required by National Assembly. His Legislative Aide hails from Ini LGA, covering Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency. His Legislative Assistant hails from Ukanafun, covering Oruk Anam/Ukanafun Federal Constituency.His Personal Assistant hails from Abak/Ika/Etim Ekpo Federal Constituency.And his Secretary hails from Ikot Ekpene LGA, being that she’s a staff of National Assembly. And none of them happens to be a family relative. I’m not a staff of the National Assembly, I’m only here to help my father and be a link between my brothers with him.

I think we’ve gone past this phase of blackmail, and it hurts when it comes from a brother. We shouldn’t throw sand on a man who has been through alot, all because he decided to take up the cross to help his people.You’ve castigated me overtime, and I’ve kept quiet. Elections are over, we have a Senator and a Minister to the Glory of God, I feel instead of fanning the ambers of discord, we should be able to make our leaders see beyond self-glory and pursuit for power. Rather, focus on how both offices could be utilised for the betterment of our people. God bless!

The Concept of Work in Our Akwa Ibom and the Process of Getting One.

SOCIALS

Toney etido (senior staff writer)

Too much hardship in the state

Amakap u’yenyen utom! And what work? Government work is the one and only craving in our state, Akwa Ibom among many. And in this process many have fallen prey and endued degradation of all sorts just to secure one fes fes.

I know of a friend who has been hunting for government job for ten years now, abandoning her lucrative job that offered her room to develop and become something really bigger than having to be in government, which she would have been by now, but for this one craving for government job or nothing!

For close to three years now I know she has not been paid, even after landing the government job las las, all thanks to her insistence that it must be government work or nothing else! Apparently my friend hit her “goldmine”, at least, so she thought, when with a whisker of luck and providence, the school she just went to attached herself to while she wait for the government employment, which she had earlier slaved and suffered all manner of degradations for with one of the aids of the wife of the governor, with the believe that at least when employment opportunity comes “Mma would include my name”, government announced the taking over of six community secondary schools in the state, the school she was attached to, one of them. My friend, who is a lab scientist, who had earlier served Mma for close to three years without seeing or realizing the promised and hope upon job, kukuma choose to stay with the community secondary school she has seen the glory from. From May, 2017 when the government of Deacon Udom Emmanuel announced the taking over of those six community secondary schools across the three senatorial district of the state, suffice me to let you know that up till now, most of those staffs that the government inherited from those schools, including my friend have not been paid, and they have been and are still working, even after going through severe rigorous rescreening exercise to be reabsorbed. They too are Akwa Ibomite, and so are we all. Why won’t they and we all crave for government job, when government has appropriated government recourses to only those that are in government or government workers. We wey no dey gofment nko? We’all gona die!  

2019 Cultural Day, Kingdom Heritage Model School Modelled High Standard in All Performance.

EDUCATION.

"Strength in diversity",  they say is the essential unique ingredient needed by man and nature to survive. And this diversity and strength is found in our respective cultures.

Mariama Jabani .... (Staff writer)

Friday, 25th, Oct, 2019 would remain a very memorable day to look back and relieve by parents, guardians, friends, well wishers, the general public, the management, staff and even them the pupil of Kingdom Heritage Model School, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom state, the nursery and primary arm of the educational venture of Living Faith Chapel, worldwide, as her teachers and pupil took to the playing ground to trill the visiting crowd in her standardized entertaining 2019 cultural day event.

The annual event which took place at the school’s playing field, No1, Factory Road, Off Okop Eto, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria, witnessed a high turn out by parents, friends, well wishers and the general public, not forgetting the press. Setting the ball rolling, the Chairman, Local School Board, (LSB) PSt. David Inyang kicked started the event with the opening prayer, followed by praise and worship, intercession and more intercession. The head teacher (HT), Mr. Israel Onozefe then kept parents, visitors and all the school’s stakeholders abreast of the development the school have recorded in the last school  calendar year, and promised to continue to sustained the standard the school is known for, and pursuing excellent. The Resident Pastor, Pastor, Wole Oyinloye then declared the 2019 cultural day open proper, after going down the scripture lane to admonished the people of the importance and origin of culture. He went on to inform the press that, the objective of the church, Living Faith is to bring everyone under one umbrella of humanity with Jesus Christ as the head.

The KINGDOM HERITAGE CULTURAL DAY, 2019 had on parade seven cultures, namely, Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Niger-Delta, Middle Belt, Edo and the Efik/Ibibio/Annang culture respectively. The pupil trilled their guests and parents to a grandeur of entertainment, their near perfect standard presentation living everyone in a wao mode.  

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2019; A PREDATOR CONFERENCE OR NOT?

Development 

(Event Diary) by Mariama Jabani (Staff Writer)

No, We Ain’t Predators!

I’d asked the professor, who described the 6th to 8th November International conference on Agriculture; theme “Authentic Agriculture for Sustainable Food Security in the Global Food System” a predator conference, what he meant by “Predator” conference?

“By predator I mean, like those organizations that just staged conferences and charge money for attendance and impact nothing at the end of the day”, he’d began to explained, when the exploding bile of disappointment and anger over his perception of the International conference on Agriculture, which seeks to assembles and bring together, some of the best and award winning minds in authentic and practical modern day Agriculture, which has the potential to mitigate the unemployment and food security challenge that is plaguing Nigeria and African, as seen in the escalating food shortage and price rise, currently experienced in the ongoing border closure that result to rice and other food scarcity all over the country.

He is a senior professor with the University of Uyo, South-South, Nigeria, the hosting venue of the upcoming International Conference that have as lead paper presenter, Engr. Prof. Ogbonnaya Chukwu, Hon. Commissioner of Finance & Economic Development, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Ebonyi state, Nigeria. The commissioner is also a Professor of Agricultural Engineering, Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering, School of Infrastructure, Process Engineering & Technology, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State. The Keynote speakers in the International Conference includes: Winner of the People’s Friendship of University of Russia’s annual money grant for best scientific research work, winner 2012 Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) with research intervention on cow pie varieties improvement, specialist on Genetics, plant breeding and seed production technology, Prof. Magashi Auwal Ibrahim, Researcher at the N.I Vavilov Institute of Crop Production, Pushkin, Saint Petersburg, Russia &Professor of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Kano State University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Kano State, Nigeria, Professor Godfrey Akpan Iwo, Visiting Scholar, Department of Plant and Environmental Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark & Professor of Plant Breeding and Cytogenetic, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Calabar, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria, Dr. Edna Augustine Akpan, , PhD Crop Protection Mycology, Head Department of Crop Science, Vice Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Akwa Ibom state University (AKSU), Iko Akpaden/Obio Akpa Campus , Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria & member Akwa Ibom state Technical Committee on Agriculture and Food Security. And many more papers and participants who have identify and expressed their willingness to be part of our International Conference on Agriculture, sending in their papers for vetting to be presented at the conference from India, UK, Zambia and other part of the globe, and someone can regard us as a predator conference. No we are not predator conference.

The International Conference on Agriculture 2019 is powered by International Centre for Integrated Development Research (ICIDR), a research advocacy base organization, Nigeria, in collaboration with CopperStone University, Zambia, not predator organizations. At ICIDR, we believe that for Nigeria and Africa to come out of her developmental quack mire, implementable and practical research from the academia and any relevant bodies have to be researches that be translated and brought to bear on the environment, solving social and societal problems, benefiting the people, anything short of that is a beautiful waste of time and government resources, no matter the academic attainment of such people manning such institution. We believe that Africa has the solution to her socio-economic challenge in her hand, but we must start coming down from our high heel, pick up and bring out our research papers and ideas and come to interact with the society and all stakeholders, toward implementing such findings for our development. This is the motivating factor of the International Conference 2019, and it is not a predator conference.