Don’t claim ownership of Ibeno land – Eket chieftain warns

A chieftain of Eket and first acting senior divisional officer of the area, O.P. Ekereuwem, has warned his people, the Ekid people, not to lay claim of any Ibeno land.

He gave the warning in a statement issued by Itid Afigh Ekid Union (AKA Eket Patriotic Platform), the Joint Council of Mpono Nnito Ibeno and Ulok Ulok People’s Assembly on Wednesday at Upenekang Youth Hall.

In the statement signed by the joint council chairman and secretary, Ikoedem Ekong and Tom Samuel Afia, he warned that no part of Ibeno belongs to Eket, adding that BUA Refinery is located in Ibeno.

“In 1971, precisely on the 28th September, Mr. O.P. Ekereuwem, Ag. Senior Divisional Officer, an Eket man, in a letter captioned TEMPORARY HUTS IN ENCLAVE CUT FOR MKPANEK’ with Reference ‘OUR REF. SEK.466/s.1/ Vol.111/746. warned the Ekid tenants in Ibeno as follows: “ It has come to the notice of this office that those of you that have constructed some temporary huts in the enclave cut of(sic) from the Stubbs Creek Forest for Mkpanek have erected sizeable huts of more than two rooms…

“I am here to inform you that with the permission given to you by Mkpanek, no one is allowed to build any structure of more than two rooms (bedroom and sitting room) in the area under discussion. Any extra room you have set up has to be negotiated between you and the Mkpanek people. I have been assured by the people of Mkpanek that they will treat all tenants (sic) fairly. I therefore advise you to co-operate.

“Till date, Ekid people living on Ibeno land build temporary huts and we have been treating them fairly. But, as their practice, they are now claiming ownership of Ikot Nsung, Akpa Urua Ikot all in Odorokuku. Facts a sacred.

“The people of Ibeno local government area have described the people of Eket local government area as land grabbers whose history of identity can only be traced back to Ibeno which they said, Eket people departed as dissidents of war.”

The group also noted that Ibeno will not tolerate any trespass of its land and vowed that Ibeno will defend BUA’s activities, its personnel, both local and expatriates.”