Gov. Eno Directs Construction Of Road In Ikono, Uyo In Line With His Rural Development Policy
...Mourns Demise Of Obong Ekiko
Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno, has directed the State Ministry of Works to award a contract for the construction of a 5-kilometre road in Ikono Clan, Uyo Local Government Area.
The governor announced this while addressing sympathisers at the funeral service in honour of the late elder statesman, Obong Cyril Mathew Ekiko, at Primary School grounds, Nung Asang.
Governor Eno explained that the road construction, besides aligning with the rural development thrust of his administration, was to keep faith with the understanding he had with the deceased during his political campaign.
“I didn’t know Uyo extends to this area. I would have thought it was Etinan Local Government Area. Be that as it may, I have asked the Ministry of Works to work with you to open up another road here. We are doing two already, but we will try and add one more in honour of your dad.”
He recalled consulting the late Obong Cyril Ekiko, a former member of the Cross River State House of Assembly in the second republic, to canvass support for his election as governor, and the elder statesman drew his attention to the non-inclusion of indigenes of Ikono Uyo in the State Executive Council since the creation of the State. He informed the people that the area has been fully represented in the new State Exco billed for inauguration on Monday, February 24, 2025.
“During our campaign, I remember vividly that I visited the late Obong Ekiko, and one of the things he told me was not to forget Ikono Uyo when I become governor, that they have not had any member in the State EXCO, either as a commissioner or special adviser.
“But I am happy today that even though he wasn’t around, we have kept our faith; we have kept the promise. Today, Ikono Uyo has, for the first time, a member in the State Executive Council that will be sworn in on Monday.
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He acknowledged that the deceased stood firm in support of truth and condoled the family on the demise of the patriarch, saying that the passing of a loved one evokes painful and emotional feelings and that he, and by extension the people of the state, shared in the sadness and feeling of loss experienced by the family.
Governor Eno urged the family to take solace in the fact that the deceased had laid a solid foundation of growth predicated on excellent pursuit and intellectual curiosity, whose candle the survivors should hold admirably to in order to immortalise him, and prayed for the repose of his soul.
Chief mourner and son of the deceased, Engr. Mbong Ekiko, expressed appreciation to the governor for leading the state delegation to bid farewell to his late father, a gesture which he said culminated in his community benefitting from the rural development drive of the present administration.
