ELECTRICITY SUPPLY: DARING MILESTONE OF ITORO COLUMBA'S GRASSROOTS TORCH

ELECTRICITY SUPPLY: DARING MILESTONE OF ITORO COLUMBA'S GRASSROOTS TORCH

By Mberekkeobong Essien

On assumption of office in 2017 when the Chairman of Ikono Local Government Council, Akparawa Itoro Columba, pledged to leave the land better than he met it; and that he was going to give the area a facelift through reconstruction, little did the locals envisage that such moves could birth renaissance of some sorts by transforming the Ntippe Ibibio Nation to a veritable hub and destination with global recognition. Three years on the saddle, the Chairman has steadily rode on the crest of complete emancipation, where his unfettered love, passion and determinable approach for his constituents never wanes.

In Ikono, the story is just different as a handful of individuals have had the rare privilege of changing the leadership narrative, who had, at one time and the other held sway as Local Government Chairmen in history; perhaps like none other, the rising to stardom of Mr Columba was seen as an additional blessing to the cradle of Ibibio civilization. His coming truly elicited the scope both within the media space and the entirety of Akwa Ibom State.

This version only attempts to keep you abraced on trendy fads, while spotlighting the chairman's improvement in power sector, as one leader who has been in touch with other communities and stakeholders affected by the electricity outage syndrome, while leveraging on his personal contact with relevant State Ministries and Agencies, to ensure the dividends of democracy gets to the grassroots and in line with the Completion Agenda of Gov Udom Emmanuel.

By this effort, the Chairman has overtime facilitated the provision of 5 transformers; ranging from a 300KVA to 500KVA, targeted to ameliorate the age-long epileptic power in five different communities. The benefitting villages are: The Ibiaku Ntok Okpo General Hospital in ward 1, Idoro Ediene in ward 2, Afaha Ediene community in ward 9, Etok Iton in ward 3 and Immaculate Conception Secondary School in ward 11. Again, I vividly recall that as one with unwavering knack for developmental service, being his driving force, he wasn't yet Council Chairman when Columba attracted electrification projects to 6 villages in his clan.

A few weeks later, after the handing over of one of those transformers, the Village Head, Chief Uwem Akpan Umoren and Village Chairman of Afaha Ediene Community, Chief Udo Uwene Ekanem, accompanied by other stakeholders of the village, had paid a THANK YOU visit to the council boss at the chairman's private residence. 

At the meeting, the Village Chairman, Chief Ekanem said, the provision of a 500KVA transformer came as a surprise to them, having explored all available avenues to secure a replacement to their transformer which had broken down for years without success. The Village Chairman added, that when the two old transformers in the area malfunctioned, the stakeholders consulted the chairman on the deplorable situation which gave rise to power outage in the area for years. He lauded the speedy and prompt response with which the council helmsman attended to the situation.

According to him, "Today is a very happy day in our history as a people. When we were in dillema beyond limit, especially when both transformers in Afaha Ediene packed up, we made consultations to you, and you actually gave us a listening ear. Today, we are happy as a people assured to have full power supply, once it's fully installed. For this and many more things you have done for us, we are here to unanimously pass a vote of confidence on you and to assure you that we shall swim and float with you in all your political career", he said.

These pragmatic moves by the council boss at putting Ikono FIRST plus the general show of love, warmth and empathy to his constituents must have informed an international Award of Excellence conferred on him recently. Indeed, the stainless and record-breaking milestones of the ebulliently admired Chairman of Ikono, has given more credence to the unity, togetherness and peaceful coexistence already ensued, and that someone can actually break the jinx of historic underperformance in the area.

Additionally, a representative of another benefitting community --the Ibiaku Ntok Okpo General Hospital in Ikono, was the Medical Superintendent of the hospital, Dr Kyrian Ekpotu. The specialist dropped another words of commendation when he led the Management Team of the health facility on a THANK YOU Visit to the Chairman in his office. Ekpotu listed the interventions to include the donation of a 300KVA electricity transformer which the Chairman secured from the Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel and donated to the hospital after 12 years of darkness occasioned by a broken down old transformer they once had.

"We are here to thank you for the numerous contributions and selfless sacrifice made towards the uplift of the image and standard of our health facilities. It is on record, that the General Hospital had existed before its renovation and inauguration by the State Governor. But, you single-handedly facilitated and made possible a new 300 KVA transformer", he asserted.

The highly celebrated Columba has without failure proven, that it is not how long a leader holds sway any public office, but how well he goes beyond his line of duty for the transformation of the society. And If the First Citizen of Ikono could achieve so much within three years on the saddle and in the midst of constant lean resources and low financial inflow, it is better assumed the hinterland revolution he will bring to Ntippe Ibibio Nation if given another elective position or appointment into a higher cadel of service. 

As I write this piece, the cradle city of Ikono is tinted in new looks. Waves of fresh air permeate the space completely, while the natives remain awestruck --basking and waxing in the euphoria of these epic accomplishments. This is how to become a Local Governments boss with "Vibes and Swags".