Etche Nationality, Not Part Of ENOA State -Ogbakor Etche

The people of Etche Ethnic Nationality, comprising Etche and Omuma local government areas of Rivers State, under the umbrella of Ogbakor Etche Worldwide have disassociated themselves from the proposed creation of ENOA State to be carved out of present day Abia, Akwa Ibom and Rivers States.
The name ENOA is coined from Etche, Ndoki, Omuma, Oyigbo and Asa.
A statement signed by President General of Ogbakor Etche Worldwide, Sir Charles Nwonuala and the General Secretary, Mr Chima Umunakwe, categorically stated that Etche and Omuma are part and parcel of Etche Nation and of Rivers State descent.
It declared that they were not part of any agitation for the creation of any state, as they were not consulted, neither did they make any contribution to the submission.
The statement refuted the submission that erroneously claimed that Etche, Ndoki, Oyigbo and Asa were under one Customary Court area at Obehie.
Etche was rather balkanised and scattered between Aba, Port Harcourt, and Owerri Provinces by the colonial administration.
Eastern Etche, the present day Omuma Local Government Area, was under Obehie Customary Court, while the bulk of Etche was in Ikwerre, and was known as Ikwerre-Etche Local Council and Native Court with headquarters at Choba; it later moved to Isiokpo and Etche, until 1980, the statement said.
It pointed out that most of Etche, was in Port Harcourt Province before the Nigerian Civil War; stating further that Etche people have never agitated to be placed anywhere else other than Rivers State and do not desire to belong to any other state but Rivers.
“While Etche people recognise and respect the right of any community to request for a State, it abhors the fact that they were not consulted, and unequivocally dissociate themselves from the project and request Dr Onwubiko Dike, the coordinator of the movement to expunge Etche and Omuma local government areas from the list of Ethnic nations making up ENOA State.
The statement also implored the general public and the National Assembly Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution to ignore every document demanding for the creation of ENOA State, due to its fundamental flaw of non-consultation and non-agreement of intentions between the agitators and the Etche Ethnic Nationality.

By: Juliet Njiowhor