A clergyman and Parish Administrator, Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (PCN), Akparabong Parish, Ikom LGA of Cross River State, Very Rev. Breedvelt Bassey Awara, has advanced reasons why the church bestowed Award of Honour on a former Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, and 19 other eminent personalities.
PCN honoured awardees, who served as backbone and pillar to the church by making thier numerous contributions not only to the development of humanity but also towards the development of God’s Kingdom.
Besides Senator Ndoma-Egba, others, who bagged the Award of Honour included ex-Chief Medical Director (CMD), University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) Prof. Roland Ndoma-Egba; Chief Willie Tawo, and an Abuja-based legal practitioner, Mr. Tawo Eja Tawo, SAN.
The first Elder/Commissioner of Akparabong Parish in Greater Ikom Presbyterian church in the 1970s, late Elder James Takim Ojong, bagged the award of honour posthumously.
PCN also conferred posthumous award to the then paramount ruler of Ikom, Etung/Boki LGA of Cross River State, Minen Ojong Ndoma-Egba, for his numerous contributions toward the development and growth of the church.
In his welcome remarks, Parish Admistrator, Very Reverend Breedvelt Awara, while soliciting for sustainance of the tempo till Christ returns, urged the parishioners not to go astray but remain in the house of God nothwitstnding the challenging times faced by Nigerians.
While giving a brief history of how Presbyterian Church came to the community, the cleric stated that the parish was inaugurated on Sunday January 26, 1997 with E. D. Williams as the pioneer Parish Admistrator with just two congregations in Adijinkpor and Ewowor.
In a goodwill message, chairman of the Anniversary Planning Committee, Dr Henry Tiku, stated, “The dreams of Presbyterian Church (CSM) congregation in Akparabong was mooted by the Late Samuel Etta Odima who brought the church to Akparabong in 1916.
“He was an agent of the Portuguese and Syrian traders/Missionaries.”
He lauded the parishioners for thier contributions toward the church’s growth, stressing that every iota of contributions made by the parishioners had been responsible for the infrastructural growth in the parish.
Reacting on behalf of the award recipients, a Calabar-based legal practitioner and son of one of the recipients of the posthumous award, Mr. Neji Takim Ojong, expressed happiness over the award, stressing that the posthumous award would strengthen those who are still alive to do more in the area of humanitarian services to mankind.
Earlier, chairman of the occasion, Mr. Abang Odok Ogar, who was ably represented by State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) member 1, Mrs. Nancy Awukam, lauded the parish leadership for the initiative and stressed that award of this nature will spur others to emulate the awardees.
