By Uko Okon
The Ibibio people of Akwa Ibom State have firmly declared that they will not concede any part of their land currently occupied by Obolo people for the creation of Obolo State.
This position was made known by Ifim Ibom Ibibio, the highest traditional leadership institution in Akwa Ibom, during the public hearing on the review of the 1999 Constitution. The South-South zonal hearing was declared open on Friday at Ikot Ekpene by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
A memorandum was presented by Dr. Samuel Udonsak, President-General of the Ekid People’s Union, on behalf of Ifim Ibom Ibibio. The Ibibios are the largest ethnic group in Akwa Ibom State.
Udonsak stated that while the Ibibio people are not opposed to the creation of new states in the country, the Obolo people in Ibeno and Eastern Obolo, whom he described as squatters on Ibibio land, have no right to carve out any portion of that land to create a state of their own.
He noted that in the current constitutional amendment process, there have been requests to the National Assembly for the creation of 31 new states across the six geopolitical zones. Among them is the proposed Obolo State, to be carved from parts of Akwa Ibom and Rivers States.
According to the memorandum, the Obolo people currently reside in Eastern Obolo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, while the state is made up of the Ibibio (16 LGAs), Annang (8 LGAs), Oro (5 LGAs), and Ibeno (1 LGA).
Ifim Ibom Ibibio, he said, recognizes the Obolo people’s right to seek a state of their own. However, it maintains that no part of Ibibio land, in any of its 16 local government areas, shall be ceded to form Obolo State or any other state not legitimately demanded by the Ibibio people.
Udonsak listed the 16 Ibibio LGAs as Eket, Esit Eket, Etinan, Ibesikpo Asutan, Ibiono Ibom, Ikono, Ikot Abasi, Ini, Itu, Mkpat Enin, Nsit Atai, Nsit Ibom, Nsit Ubium, Onna, Uruan, and Uyo, as specified in the First Schedule, Part 1 of the 1999 Constitution. He emphasized that the ancestral boundaries of these LGAs are clearly demarcated and delineated in the officially approved and gazetted map of Akwa Ibom State dated April 27, 2023.
He stated that all land currently occupied by the Obolo people in Eastern Obolo was historically leased to their ancestors by the Ibibio on a royalty-paying basis. He added that the Ibibio have lived peacefully with other ethnic groups including the Annang, Oro, Ibeno, and Obolo, but remain completely opposed to the annexation of any part of Ibibio land for the proposed Obolo State.
Udonsak concluded that the position of Ifim Ibom Ibibio and Ibibio people, both at home and in the diaspora, is firm: no village, section, or inch of Ibibio land shall form part of the proposed Obolo State.
In contrast, the Obolo people, in their own presentation at the public hearing, insisted on the creation of a state of their own, citing longstanding marginalization in the present structure of Akwa Ibom State.
