A former senator from Akwa Ibom State, Nelson Effiong, has been appointed the village head of Eyo Usotai in Oron Local Government Area of the state.
He was among the new traditional rulers in the state who received their certificate of recognition from the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, on Tuesday, 23 September, in Uyo, as part of the events to mark the 38th anniversary of the state’s creation.
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At the event, Mr Eno swore in the Paramount Ruler of Abak Local Government Area, Saviour Udofia, as the new Chairperson of the Akwa Ibom State Traditional Rulers Council.
The governor used the event to express his administration’s commitment to traditional rulers’ welfare.
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“We have provided official vehicles to our royal fathers. Some (of the vehicles) that were over five years old were replaced with new ones. We are intervening in their healthcare needs, outside of the quarterly healthcare package we have been providing,” the governor said.
He announced an upward review of the monthly remuneration for the state’s traditional rulers and the appointment of a personal assistant for each paramount ruler.
Governor Eno said the state government “treasures” the roles the traditional rulers play in the state’s governance, especially at the grassroots. He said the administration wanted to demonstrate how much it cares about them and to encourage them in their good deeds.
He appealed for continued support from the traditional rulers for his administration.
Ex-senator explains why he accepted to be a village head
PREMIUM TIMES, on Wednesday, asked Mr Effiong why he accepted becoming a village head.
“I have finished the political journey; I am now on the traditional journey. There comes a time you have to give way for the younger ones to take over in politics. I will be 73 years old next April. If I were in the civil service, I would have retired long ago,” the former senator told our reporter.
He said his focus as a village head would be on building and sustaining peace among his people and drawing the government’s attention to their development needs.
“Even though we did our best in politics, you know the influence the village head, clan head and the paramount ruler have,” he said.
Mr Effiong, elected under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform, represented Akwa Ibom South District in the Senate from 2015 to 2019. He defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress in 2017.
“The party is in tatters,” Mr Effiong said when he defected from the PDP. “No reasonable politician can keep wasting his time (in the PDP).”
He was the speaker of the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly before he became a senator.
The former senator was abducted by gunmen in 2021 and was later released after spending over 50 days in captivity.
