Nigeria’s Ambassador to Germany, Ita Enang, has criticised the Chairperson of the Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Ubong Nkutt, over the poor condition of roads in his community, questioning the council’s performance despite increased federal allocations.
Mr Enang, a former senator who represented Akwa Ibom North East (which includes Itu Local Government Area), made the remarks during the weekend in a video circulating online in which he questioned the absence of an access road to the chairman’s village despite increased revenues accruing to the council.
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“Since he became the chairman, the first thing he could do is get land from the village, fence it and start building a house that he will live in. Where is the access road that he will use to his house? This is too shameful,” Mr Enang said in the video.
He also questioned the council’s spending priorities, alleging that Itu receives between N800 million and N900 million monthly from the Federation Account.
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“I will speak about this on the radio on Tuesday, he does not have a road in his village yet gets between N800 and N900 million monthly allocation. In February this year, they were given N1.3 billion. What is he doing with the money? He should tar his village road,” he said.
However, an analysis of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) reports published by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation by PREMIUM TIMES shows that some of Mr Enang’s claims about Itu’s federal allocations are inaccurate.
What Itu actually received
Mr Nkutt and other local government chairpersons in Akwa Ibom were sworn into office in October 2024.
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From October to December 2024, Itu received a combined N1.143 billion in FAAC allocations, according to the records analysed by PREMIUM TIMES.
In 2025, the council received N5.703 billion, while its allocation for the first five months of 2026 stood at N2.608 billion.
The cumulative FAAC allocation to Itu between October 2024 and May 2026 (the last published FAAC allocation) was therefore N9.455 billion.
This means the council received an average of N472.8 million per month over the 20-month period, significantly below the N800 million to N900 million per month range alleged by Mr Enang.
The highest monthly FAAC allocation received by the council since Mr Nkutt assumed office was N566.16 million, allocated in April 2026 and shared in May.
Similarly, contrary to Mr Enang’s claim that Itu received N1.3 billion in February, the records show that the N519.79 million allocation for January 2026 was shared with the council in February.
The figures show that, although Itu’s federal allocations have increased following the removal of the petrol subsidy and subsequent increases in FAAC distributions, the council has not received the amounts claimed by Mr Enang.
Beyond FAAC
The council’s financial position cannot, however, be assessed solely from its FAAC allocations.
Itu is one of the commercial centres of Akwa Ibom and has several major revenue-generating activities.
The local government hosts the Itam market, widely regarded as the state’s biggest weekly market, which attracts traders and goods from within and outside Akwa Ibom. A substantial section of the market also operates daily, generating revenue through ticketing and other levies.
Itu also hosts interstate transport operators, including the Akwa Ibom Transport Company, as well as a major cattle and goat market, the state’s biggest abattoir and one of the state’s major timber markets.
These activities provide the council with substantial opportunities for internally generated revenue.
However, there is little publicly available information showing how much Itu generates from these sources or how the funds are subsequently spent.
Questions over projects
Mr Enang’s criticism follows concerns over the visibility of projects executed by the council since Mr Nkutt assumed office.
In the video, he said he was disappointed that a council chairman from Itu could remain in office without ensuring that roads serving his community were improved.
“I thought he is a young man who has thoughts about his community. This is just too shameful,” he said.
PREMIUM TIMES’ attempts to establish the projects executed by the council since October 2024 were hampered by the absence of publicly accessible fiscal and project information.
The council, like other local government councils in Akwa Ibom, does not publish its budget online, despite a requirement under the Akwa Ibom State Fiscal Responsibility Law.
Section 47(2) of the law requires ministries, departments and agencies, including local governments, to maintain functional online portals through which budgets, implementation reports and audited financial statements are published.
Findings by PREMIUM TIMES show that no local government council in Akwa Ibom currently has its budget publicly available online.
The absence of such information makes it difficult for residents to determine how much their council receives, how much it generates internally and what it spends on roads, schools, healthcare, water, markets and other public infrastructure.
PREMIUM TIMES previously reported that Itu Local Government failed to provide desks for pupils in a primary school within the local government, leaving children to sit on bare floors while receiving lessons.
Enang’s aide confirms video
Contacted by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Enang’s media aide, Uduak Abasi Ikpat, confirmed that the video was authentic.
Mr Ikpat, however, said the remarks were not intended for public consumption.
According to him, Mr Enang made the comments while addressing a few community members after a bad road in Itu damaged his vehicle during his visit to a Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing project he had attracted to the community.
PREMIUM TIMES contacted Mr Nkutt for his response to the issues raised by Mr Enang and the newspaper’s findings.
The chairperson did not respond to several calls from our report. He also did not respond to a media enquiry sent to him via text message.
The enquiry asked the chairperson to provide details of the council’s expenditure from the N9.455 billion received in FAAC allocations between October 2024 and May 2026, including expenditure by sector and project.
He was also asked to provide details of road, education, health, water, market and other infrastructure projects undertaken since October 2024, including their locations, costs, contractors and current status.
Our reporter further asked him to disclose its internally generated revenue from the Itam market, transport operators, cattle and goat markets, the abattoir, timber market and other sources.
He also asked the council chairperson why the council had not published its budgets, budget implementation reports and audited financial statements online, and whether the administration would make its revenue, expenditure and procurement records publicly accessible.
Mr Nkutt did not respond to the enquiry as of the time of filing this report.
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