2011: HOUSING MINISTER, EKET YOUTHS RALLY FOR AKPABIO

The youths of Eket Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom State will on Saturday, August 21, host a solidarity rally in honour of Governor Godswill Akpabio. The event, billed to take place at the QIC Primary School grounds in Eket to 'Validate God's Will', is expected to attract all youths of the Eket Federal Constituency comprising four local government areas.

A statement by the Chairman of the Central Planning Committee, Chief Usoro I. Usoro, said the solidarity/endorsement rally would have the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mr Nduese Essien, as the chairman.

Usoro said the event would be the first of its kind for the people of the Federal Constituency, comprising Eket, Esit Eket, Ibeno and Onna to jointly endorse any person for an elected office since the creation of the state.

The organizers – Eket Federal Constituency Youths Forum (EFCYF), after consultations with the elders decided, through a resolution at a congress held in Eket on June 30, to honour Akpabio who they said had impacted significantly on them like no other governor of the state in the past.

The organizers said the governor would be honoured for magnanimously nominating an illustrious son of the constituency in the person of Nduese Essien for appointment as a minister in President Goodluck Jonathan's cabinet; giving the federal constituency a sense of belonging by appointing their sons and daughters into his government as cabinet members, personal aides and members of boards and ministerial agencies. They also cited empowering youths and children of the constituency through the introduction of free primary and secondary education,  inter-ministerial direct labour project, Ibom taxi scheme and skills acquisition programmes.

The release further stressed that the administration of Gov. Akpabio had, within the last three years, been able to achieve what other administrations could not do for local government areas of the constituency.

'The landscape of the federal constituency today is dotted with projects funded and executed by the Akpabio administration. Such projects, according to the release, include the first-ever general hospital in Ibeno; mini water projects, units of newly constructed market stalls, health centre, rural electrification, rehabilitation of classrooms' blocks, staff quarters, etc. in Mkpanak, Iwochang, Osung Nse Asukpa, Idung Abasi Okure, Ukpenekang, Okoroutip, Atia and Itak Idem Nne Ekpe, Iwuokpom and Okpolom all in Ibeno Local Government Area.'