By Jonathan Ugbal
The Cross River State commissioner for water resources, Mr. Gabriel Odu-Oji has said that only six of them pushed for the creation of Etung local government area out of the old Ikom.
Mr. Odu-Oji stated this Thursday in Calabar at an event to mark the fourth anniversary of Glance Magazine where while admonishing the publishers to strive on, shared his story on the creation of the local government area.
He averred that: “Etung local government area was created in 1996 by the late Sani Abacha.
“It was just myself and a few others from the then Ikom local government area and then people were saying that it is just two wards; Etung north and Etung south and they were saying from this two wards you want a local government?
“Ikom as at then had ten wards of which Etung north and Etung south were just two wards and you said you want a local government.
“Myself and about five others, we sat down and agreed and our elders said why are you people doing this, how can you take two out of 10 wards to become a local government? You people cannot achieve it, you cannot realize it.
“All the people were busy dissuading us, we did not care about them, we went on the process, I was a lecturer in the University then and I said to my five colleagues, you people brought yourselves to Abuja … sensitize our people and when the process was completed, to the shock of everybody, Etung was created.”
Mr. Odu-Oji, who has been a Chairman of the local government area as well a commissioner in the administration of former Governor Liyel Imoke had also recounted his ordeal at the hands of kidnappers whom he said called him a “wonderful man” and wondered why they even abducted him.
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