Forum Of Former Elected Councillors Honours Nsit Atai Chairman As Patron

The Forum of Former Elected Councillors, Akwa Ibom State, has honoured the Executive Chairman of Nsit Atai Local Government Area, Hon. Prince Anthony Nyong, with an Award of Excellence in Leadership and appointed him patron in recognition of his administration’s development initiatives and settlement of outstanding entitlements owed to former councillors.

The recognition was announced when the forum’s state leadership visited the Chairman at the council secretariat in Odot, on Thursday, October 22, 2026,

Leading the delegation, the State Leader of the forum, Hon. Pastor Joseph Mbong, JP commended the chairman for his achievements in infrastructure development, grassroots governance and efforts to resolve longstanding disputes over former councillors’ entitlements.

Pastor Mbong highlighted interventions in road grading, electricity, solar-powered water facilities, agriculture, education and other sectors, noting that the transformation of the council secretariat was particularly commendable.

He said members of the delegation had visited the facility previously and could attest to the changes made under the present administration.

Read Also: Two Years of Purposeful Leadership: Media Unit Celebrates Nsit Atai Chairman, Prince Nyong

The forum leader also singled out the settlement of outstanding furniture allowances and other arrears owed to former elected councillors in Nsit Atai between 2003 and 2023, describing the intervention as a demonstration of fairness and respect for public service.

According to him, the settlement had helped address a longstanding issue that had generated disputes and legal proceedings.

Mbong commended the chairman’s efforts to pursue an amicable resolution, including steps taken to withdraw cases instituted by previous administrations at the Court of Appeal in Calabar. He urged other local government chairmen to adopt a similar approach to resolving disputes over legitimate entitlements.

“We commend the chairman for his developmental strides and, particularly, for settling the outstanding arrears owed to our former councillors. We urge other local government chairmen to emulate this example of responsible leadership,” Mbong said.

He added that the forum had confidence in the chairman’s leadership and would continue to support his administration.

Also speaking, the Uyo Senatorial District Leader of the forum, Comrade Imo Attah, PhD, said the organisation recognised leaders whose actions demonstrated a commitment to public service and grassroots development.

Attah explained that the decision to honour Prince Nyong was intended to encourage him to sustain his achievements and acknowledge his administration’s recognition of the contributions former councillors had made to community development.

“Chairman, we do not give awards indiscriminately. We identify with excellence, as instructed by our Grand Patron, the President of the Senate, His Excellency, Senator Dr Godswill Akpabio, GCON. We do not give awards to just anybody. We conduct our activities in this forum with a clear conscience.

“For you to recognise the contributions of our members and pay the arrears owed to them without considering their political affiliations or where they belong, you have demonstrated exceptional leadership, and we do not take it for granted.

“As the chairman of the committee, I will report to our Grand Patron that we visited Nsit Atai to honour you,” Attah said.

The Nsit Atai Coordinator of the forum, Rt. Hon. Ben Udo Ben, a two time Leader of the Nsit Atai Legislative Council, who disclosed that he was among the beneficiaries of the settlement, also commended Prince Nyong and pledged the organisation’s continued support for his administration.

Responding, the Chairman thanked the delegation for the recognition, insisting that the award was neither solicited nor purchased. He said he welcomed honest assessments of his administration’s performance, including criticism that could help improve governance.

“I thank you all for this recognition. I did not pay you to come and give me an award or praise me. You saw our efforts and decided to recognise them. I will never pay anybody to sing my praises.

“In fact, I would prefer that you say exactly what you want to say and express your honest assessment of our performance. If there is anything wrong, I will admit it and make corrections. Thank you for all you have said about our administration and its performance in the past two years,” the chairman said.

Prince Nyong said his administration had prioritised the development of the council secretariat because of the poor state of infrastructure it inherited when it assumed office on October 7, 2024.

He described the former state of the facility as inadequate for the administrative needs of the local government, noting that staff had been working in cramped corridor offices.

“When we came in, we saw that the local government lacked infrastructure, starting with the secretariat, which is the seat of government. If you visit some other local government areas in the state and compare their council secretariats with ours, you will understand how far behind Nsit Atai was.

“Nsit Atai was one of the, if not the only, local government areas where the council secretariat looked like an open grazing field, with just three bungalows. Staff struggled to work in corridor offices. As an administration, we decided to begin our development drive with the seat of government,” Nyong said.

The chairman disclosed that the administration had completed a new administrative block comprising 32 offices and a conference hall with a gallery. He said the building had been furnished, while landscaping of the secretariat premises was nearing completion.

Prince Nyong said the new administrative block was scheduled for commissioning in November, adding that the council’s perimeter fencing had also been completed.

He further disclosed that the administration had recovered and renovated a building originally provided as a vocational centre by Distinguished Senator Ita Enang. According to him, the property was subsequently vandalised, with its doors and windows removed, before the land was sold.

The chairman said the recovered building had been renovated and converted into an annex for security personnel attached to the council, who previously lacked dedicated office space.

He added that the recovered land had also been made available for the construction of the Nsit Atai Youth Development Centre.

“We have also renovated the building and handed it over to the security personnel in the council as their new annex because they initially had no office. Before now, you could come to the council and see police officers attached to the council hanging around the veranda. That has been addressed,” he said.

On security operations, Prince Nyong said his administration had also taken steps to improve the operational capacity of security personnel in the local government, particularly by addressing challenges relating to patrol vehicles and basic facilities.

“In the area of security, when we came in, we met police officers relying on motorcycles and tricycles for patrols, while they sometimes had to rent vehicles for their operations.

“The outgoing Divisional Police Officer, who has been a fantastic officer, brought these challenges to our attention in our first year in office. We responded to his initial request by rehabilitating the water facility at the police station and converting it to a solar-powered system.

“As I speak to you, their abandoned patrol Hilux has been repaired, and we will soon hand it over to them to support their operations and enhance security across the local government area,” the chairman said.

Explaining the long-term importance of the projects, Nyong said the infrastructure was being developed to serve future administrations and generations beyond his tenure.

“We are building these infrastructures not for ourselves, because our time here is limited and we will eventually leave office. We are building them for future generations. If we had resumed office and met a secretariat befitting the status of Nsit Atai, we would have concentrated on other areas of development.

“We want future administrations to focus on other priorities without having to worry about the state of the secretariat. We believe that before we leave office, my administration, with the support of the people, will reposition this local government,” he said.

On road maintenance, the chairman recalled that his administration began road grading in November 2024, shortly after assuming office, in response to the poor condition of internal roads across the area.

He said the council initially hired two graders but later decided to repair and deploy its own equipment after encountering challenges with the hired machinery and its operators.

“When we came into office on October 7, 2024, we flagged off road grading in November of the same year because almost all the internal roads in Nsit Atai were in poor condition, having gone many years without grading. We initially hired two graders to carry out the work, but due to some challenges, including issues with the operators and equipment breakdowns, we decided to take a different approach.

“We discovered that the local government had its own grader which had been abandoned in the bush for about eight years. We took over the equipment, repaired it and prepared it for use. By this dry season, another phase of comprehensive road grading will commence with our own grader, and we hope to reach every nook and cranny of the local government area,” Nyong said.

Beyond infrastructure, the chairman highlighted interventions in healthcare, education and social support.

He said the council had rehabilitated existing water facilities and converted them to solar power to improve sustainability, constructed additional water facilities, sponsored free surgeries for residents and restored an ambulance for the Primary Health Centre in Odot.

In education, he said pupils in public primary schools across the local government’s ten wards had received school bags, sandals, exercise books and other learning materials through the administration’s back-to-school initiative.

Prince Nyong also disclosed that screening had commenced for students in tertiary institutions seeking bursary support, adding that payments would begin after the exercise was completed.

He said the bursary programme was being revived after several years without payment and noted that the council had continued to assist students who approached the administration for help with school fees and other financial needs.

The chairman also acknowledged the contributions of Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, PhD, to infrastructure development in Nsit Atai.

He listed the Odot–Ikot Ubo Road, Nsit Atai–Okobo Road and Ikot Essien–Ikot Uyo Road among the road projects provided for the area. He also mentioned the ongoing construction of the Ikot Asua–Odot Road and the inclusion of the Ikot Edong–Ikot Edebe–Odot Road, with a spur from Ikot Edebe to Ndon Ikot Itie Udung, in the 2026 budget.

Nyong said the projects would improve connectivity and open up communities for greater economic activity.

He further acknowledged the governor’s support for the Youth Development Centre, a model primary school at Ikot Akpabio, a model primary health centre in Odot and compassionate homes for vulnerable residents.

“We thank His Excellency for intervening for us, especially in road infrastructure and other development projects. We appreciate the support he has given Nsit Atai, including the Youth Development Centre, the model primary school, the model primary health centre and compassionate homes. We in Nsit Atai will massively support him in 2027,” the chairman said.

Prince Nyong, while accepting his appointment as patron of the forum, urged its members to remain united and continue to support the state administration.

Those present during the visit included the Vice Chairman of Nsit Atai Local Government Council, Hon. Affiong Amanam; the Council Secretary, Obong Sunday Udia; and other members of the delegation and council officials.