We Want Electricity Not Rice, Salts, Cross River Monarch Tells Politicians

Following power blackout faced by residents of Akai Efa community, Calabar Municipality LGA of Cross River State, for over a year, the village head of Akai Efa community, HRH Henrietta Apera, has rejected bags of rice and salt brought to her domain by a certain politician (name withheld) saying she is not ready to commit to any elective office seeker in 2023.

The monarch stated that rice is not the problem of her people but electricity and unemployment.

“Any politician willing to enter my domain to canvass for votes should first of all visit me and my chiefs in council for us to sign an undertaking on how to fix electricity for our people before attempting to visit the community to solicit support, otherwise none of them would get one vote from us,” she said.

While lamenting the negative impact the blackout had caused, she said, “As I speak to you now, 80% of the small and medium scale enterprises in our community had packed up in the last one year due to power outage and you want us to cast our votes for politicians. None of them would get one vote from us.

“If not for the member representing Akamkpa/Biase federal constituency at the National Assembly, Hon Daniel Asuquo who once gave us four transformers, years ago unfortunately the transformers had packed up. We thank him for that effort.”

The female traditional ruler also commended the lawmaker representing Calabar Municipality/Odukpani federal constituency at the National Assembly, Hon Eta Mbora for contributing a well-furnished five classroom blocks to their community secondary school, the community would have been the most backward community in the entire Cross River State.

“We are not going to take it easy with any politician coming to my domain to canvass for votes only to abandon us in total black out with our youths unemployed. We are out to get the narratives a little bit changed. We cannot continue in this kind of deceit. We have been marginalised over a long period of time by those using us to climb to the top.

“Enough is enough when those who come seeking public positions, used our people and dumped them upon assumption in office.

“No politician in the state is allowed to come for campaign in our community unless he or she enter into agreement with us otherwise we would block such politician entry to our community.

“We are tired of eating rice and maggie cubes all we are saying is that unless a politician  enter into agreement  to provide the  basic infrastructure like electricity, that is when we would put our weight solidly behind such politician otherwise we won’t entertain any of them coming to our community to canvass for support.

“We aren’t asking for much. We are not in need of gratification of any form. But   transformers that can power Aka Efa community,” she said.

The monarch decried the over one year power outage in the community due to lack of electricity transformers and called on well meaningful individuals to rescue the community from the blackout.