The people of Engenni Ethnic Nationality in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State have called for the renaming of the council to Ekpeye/Engenni to reflect the ethnic diversities which make up the area.
The people who said this at a one-day Engenni Economic Development Summit at Akinima the council headquarters, also lamented the developmental backwardness of the kingdom inspite of its huge oil and other forms of natural resources.
The Okilomu Ibe III of Engenni kingdom, Moore Maclean Ubuo, said the summit which has the theme: “Rebuilding Engenni Kingdom for the 21st Century Global Economy,” was to xray the state of economic/social development of the kingdom.
According to the Okilomu Ibe, “Engenni has for too long been in a state of obscurity amongst its peers in Rivers State.
“Engenni Day is an apt occasion to reflect on our past and examine the opportunities available to our children today and years to come,” he said.
Also speaking, the chairman of Engenni Eminent Persons Group, Elder Harvey Warman, said Engenni had for long been under the tutelage of its neigbours and was gradually losing its way of life and culture.
“The paradigm of abject poverty, due mainly to a monolithic economy controlled from faraway destinations ensured our endemic backwardness.
“The essence here is therefore, to challenge the multinational oil companies operating in Engenni land and government policies arising therefore to move a way from a purely monolithic economy to the core socio-economic paradigms for a sustainable development in our communities.”
According to the elder statesman, the summit will address the gross insensitivity of the multinational companies operating in Engenni in responding to the peculiar development challenge of the people especially the dire absence of basic infrastructures in the area.
Elder Warman further said the summit was about investing in people, infrastructure and innovation in creative ways to prepare sons and daughters of the area for the 21st century global economy as well as address the sustainability of Engenni identity and culture.
In his address, the chairman of the occasion Professor Ezekiel Dikio of Niger Delta University said renaming the council will give Engenni and Ekpeye ethnic nationalities a sense of identity.
Professor Dikio said Engenni had contributed so much to the economy of Rivers State and Nigeria, but has nothing to show for it.
The chairman of Ahoada Local Government Area, Evangelist Hope Ikiriko, warned the people against agents of destabilisation, adding that Engenni and Ekpeye will remain one inseparable entity.