The Oku Ibom Ibibio and President General of the Akwa Ibom State Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers, His Eminence, Ntenyin SOLOMON ETUK has appealed to the organisers of the planned nationwide protest to reconsider the overall interest of the nation by shelving their proposed action.
According to the monarch, who is the Patriarch of the Ibibios worldwide, there are other ways to call out the attention of government to our economic challenges, warning against any action that may plunge the nation into an insurmountable crisis and possible destruction of hard-earned state and national facilities.
Speaking with newsmen in Uyo, the Oku Ibom Ibibio pleaded with Nigerian citizens to demonstrate reasonable level of patriotism by resisting the temptation to sponsor or participate in the planned #EndBadGovernance protest.
The royal father, who stressed that governance is not an easy affair, drew the attention of the people to positive initiatives and achievements recorded by both the federal and state governments within the last year, calling on all to be patient with the Government for the actualisation of its economic reforms and development programme, the Renewed Hope Agenda.
The Oku Ibom Ibibio also noted the commendable performance of Governor Umo Eno in Akwa Ibom State, as encapsulated in his ARISE Agenda. He called on indigenes and residents alike to give the governor unalloyed cooperation and support to achieve more.
The monarch also urged traditional rulers, parents, guardians, and leaders at various levels to caution their subjects and wards against being enticed to join the planned protest to avoid untoward consequences.
To curb the teething food crises in parts of the country, Ntenyin ETUK emphasised the importance of Nigerians including those in government and other business endeavours to engage seriously in farming and agriculture in general, stressing that since Nigeria is blessed with enormous arable land and water resources there should not be food crises at all.
On the local government autonomy, he said the development should be seen as a positive measure to unbundle development at the grassroots which will also curb youth’s restiveness at the local government areas.
He, however, advised that strict supervision be applied to the system to avoid mismanagement of the expected financial windfall from direct funding of the third tiers.
