It’s an exercise in mischief – Council boss
Patrick Aidam, the personal assistant to the deputy leader of the Akamkpa Legislature has resigned his appointment due to the ongoing communal crisis in the Iko Esai community of Akamkpa LGA of Cross River State.
The crisis in the community, which has festered for over the past three years now, recently took a violent turn leading to the death of one person and destruction of property.
The former personal assistant in his resignation letter accused the council boss Felix Akposi of complicity in the crisis.
“Today, Iko Esai is in ruins, a shadow of its former self courtesy of the divisive politics of the Chairman.
“My community has been destroyed, people killed, houses burnt and several other destructions on a daily basis yet nothing is done about it as the chairman continues to dine and wine with penetrators of these heinous crimes,” he alleged, adding that the events leading to his decision had culminated in “very critical moments, worrisome and an existential threat” to his life, hence the decision to quit.
However, in his response, the LG Chairman, Hon. Akposi faulted the decision, describing it as an exercise in mischief.
“His so-called resignation letter is not only an exercise in mischief but a compendium of calculated falsehoods, laced with incendiary rhetoric,” Akposi said, describing the crisis within the community as a combination of years of internecine wrangling, factional antagonism and an ingrained culture of deception, which his former appointee helped to perpetuate.
He tasked stakeholders to abandon factionalism, tell the truth and work towards lasting reconciliation.
Also speaking on the crisis, Okon Owuna, member representing Akamkpa one in the State House of Assembly, disclosed that he had moved a motion of urgent public importance in the House, urging the government to step in swiftly to de-escalate the situation.
He further recommended the dissolution of the current youth council, pending the formation of a new executive committee by the community, as a step towards restoring lasting peace, emphasizing the need for proactive measures to prevent further destruction and ensure stability in Akamkpa 1 Constituency.
