Sunday March 15, 2026
www.thenewsdesk.ng
By Ann MAURICE
Stakeholders from Ibeno Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State have accused the leadership of Ekid People’s Union (EPU) of allegedly hiding under faceless organisations to intimidate and disparage the Akwa Ibom State Government over the lingering controversy surrounding the ownership of the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve.
The stakeholders, who spoke through the Secretary of the Ibeno Clan Council, Chief Udofia Okon Udofia, made the allegation in a statement issued at the weekend in Upenekang, the headquarters of Ibeno Local Government Area.
Udofia said the response became necessary following what he described as persistent attempts by the EPU and its President-General, Dr. Samuel Udonsak, to distort historical, legal and geographical facts relating to the ownership of the forest reserve.
He noted that, Ibeno people would ordinarily have refrained from engaging in public exchanges on the matter, particularly as the Akwa Ibom State Government had earlier clarified its position through a press statement jointly issued by the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Aniekan Umanah, and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Uko Essien Udom, SAN.
The government had maintained that the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve remains under the control of the Akwa Ibom State Government, having been legally gazetted as a forest reserve, while emphasising the need to protect overriding public interest.
However, the Ibeno stakeholders said the situation took a different dimension when a group identified as the “Open Forum Care for Humanity Foundation,” led by one Matthew Koffi Okono, called on the state government to withdraw its January 6, 2026 press statement on the issue.
They questioned the credibility and legal standing of the organisation, alleging that it lacks a verifiable profile and does not appear to be duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
According to the stakeholders, the foundation’s intervention was merely a cover used by the Ekid People’s Union to launch fresh attacks on the state government and continue spreading what they described as false narratives about the ownership of Stubbs Creek.
“The so-called foundation is only acting as a cover for Dr. Samuel Udonsak and his associates to disparage the state government and mislead the public on the history and ownership of Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve since they can no longer do so directly,” the statement said.
The stakeholders insisted that by history, geography, custom, tradition and law, the Stubbs Creek area is fundamentally linked to Ibeno, noting that only limited portions historically relate to neighbouring Mbo and Esit Eket Local Government Areas, while Eket Local Government Area, has no inch of land within the forest reserve.
They also accused the EPU leadership of attempting to manufacture controversy in order to remain politically relevant, describing their recent statements as propaganda aimed at pressuring the state government to reverse what they described as a well-researched and legally grounded position.
“Ekid does not have an inch of land within the forest reserve nor any historical connection to it. Attempts by paid external impostors to amplify thrir illegal claims are unfair and unacceptable,” the group stated.
The Ibeno stakeholders further criticised what they described as an emerging alliance between promoters of the foundation and certain political figures, including Michael Bush, whom they alleged were seeking relevance by fuelling controversy over the ownership of Stubbs Creek.
They also faulted Matthew Okono’s appeal to the state government to withdraw its position on the reserve, the continued detention of Princess Udoito, and the alignment of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway through the area.
According to them, the appeal was made in bad faith, alleging double standards on the part of Okono, whom they accused of supporting the routing of the highway through forest areas in his Nsit Atai local government, while opposing its passage through Ibeno Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve.
Chief Udofia also questioned the silence of Okono and his foundation when Princess Udoito was allegedly criticising Governor Umo Eno on social media.
The stakeholders reaffirmed their support for the administrations of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Umo Eno, commending their commitment to development initiatives across Akwa Ibom State.
They also defended the rotational arrangement governing the House of Representatives seat for the Eket Federal Constituency, insisting that Ibeno is legitimately completing its turn in 2031 based on an existing political agreement among the constituent local government areas.
The group also urged Ekid People’s Union to desist from what they described as inflammatory rhetoric and allow historical facts, legal processes and established boundaries to guide public discourse on the ownership of the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve.
The renewed controversy over the ownership of the reserve has resurfaced in recent weeks following a series of claims and counter-claims by various groups, even as the Akwa Ibom State Government maintains that, the land remains a designated forest reserve established by the colonial administration in 1930 and administered by the state in accordance with Nigerian law.
The State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Uko Essien Udom, SAN, had earlier reiterated that under the Land Use Act, all land in the state is vested in the governor in trust for the people, while urging all parties to refrain from spreading misinformation and allow the courts to determine the dispute.
