Senator Nelson Effiong: A Waste Of Akwa Ibom Senatorial Slot And The Need For A Recall From The Senate
Eneh John
“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.”-Dr.Seuss
The above defines the glorious moment Nelson Effiong is currently basking in the upper chambers of the National assembly. His ascension to the Senate Chambers was propelled by the former Governor o Akwa Ibom State, Chief Godswill Akpabio.
Almost one year of Nelson Effiong’s journey to the senate, I make bold to say that Akpabio disappointed the people of Eket Senatorial District with the choice of Nelson.
One man his constituents will never love, for his lack of care and attention to the people is Nelson Effiong. Suffice to say that, the relatively unknown Nelson nicknamed Tabasco has nothing to how so far in his ascendancy.
One begins to imagine the level of hatred the Oro people has for him to the extent that his incomplete building in Oron which he could not complete even while he serve as the Speaker of the Akwa ibom State House of Assembly was burnt by irate youths.
It is interesting to note that over 70% of the people in Eket Senatorial District do not know Nelson Effiong. What a shame.
I have consistently followed up proceedings in the National Assembly, and I have never heard any motion from the man who claims to represent my senatorial district.
Nelson Effiong’s journey to the senate representing Eket Senatorial District has been a monumental waste. As an unknown Author had rightly posited, “Dignity does not consist in possessing honours, but in deserving them”. The question remains, did Nelson actually deserve the senatorial slot?
Can Nelson Effiong point at any project he has so far executed? The price of service to the people is more than bearing titles and nicknames.
What empowerment programme has he been able to put in place for his people?
Will this same man if not for electoral fraud be able to garner one third of the votes he claimed to have gotten in the senate race?
The process to recall Nelson Effiong begins with me and the constituents. Never again will politicians play on our intelligence.
There are better sons and daughters in Oron who would have done better in the Senate whose voices the constituents yearn to hear in the House.
To say the least is to tell anyone who cares to listen that at the moment, Eket Senatorial District has no Senator.
In the words of Benjamin Disraeli, he said, “The youths of a Nation are its trustees for posterity.” Someday, the youth will arise and take its rightful position, where non-performing men like Nelson will be shown the way out.
It is not your buildings that will speak; your legacy is the people. And if the people whom you represent do not feel an impact, then you have to bow out.
I write this with no ethnic coloration, but that the truth might be to for the sake of posterity.
THE TIME TO RECALL NELSON EFFIONG FROM THE SENATE DRAWS CLOSER…
A REPUTATION FOUNDED ON INTEGRITY, MUST BE NURTURED BY TRUTH.
Eneh John is an Investigative Journalist and Human Rights Activist.
E-mail: [email protected]
