Supreme Court ruling on Bakassi should spur C’River to action’– Eyo Ekpo

A former Attorney General of Cross River State, Mr. Eyo Ekpo,
has charged the state government to take advantage of the recent
Supreme Court ruling on the delineation of Bakassi to spur the
Independent National Electoral Commission to re-delineate the
Bakassi and Akpabuyo boundaries.

In the lead judgment on February 23, 2019 in suit SC.311/2014,
which was ruled in favour of INEC, Justice Inyang Okoro advised the
electoral body to do the ‘needful’ before the 2019 general
elections to reintegrate the displaced persons of Bakassi.

However, in an interview with our correspondent in Calabar on
Saturday, Ekpo said there was the urgent need for INEC to
re-delineate the Bakassi constituency to save the people from being
disenfranchised during the general elections.

Ekpo, who was the attorney general between 2003 and 2007 during
the administration of Mr. Donald Duke, said re-delineating the area
would properly reintegrate the displaced people of Bakassi who had
lost their ancestral homes to Cameroon after the ceding of the
Peninsula.

He said, “The Supreme Court’s call on INEC to as a matter of
urgency re-delineate the boundary between Akpabuyo and Bakassi is
an advisory note. INEC should obey. Supreme Court judgment is on
issues.

“The ruling is based on whether or not the people of Bakassi
need political representation but when you read the judgement, you
will see that the people of Bakassi do not have representation
because INEC has not delineated their boundary.’’

A former Attorney General of Cross River State, Mr. Eyo Ekpo,
has charged the state government to take advantage of the recent
Supreme Court ruling on the delineation of Bakassi to spur the
Independent National Electoral Commission to re-delineate the
Bakassi and Akpabuyo boundaries.

In the lead judgment on February 23, 2019 in suit SC.311/2014,
which was ruled in favour of INEC, Justice Inyang Okoro advised the
electoral body to do the ‘needful’ before the 2019 general
elections to reintegrate the displaced persons of Bakassi.

However, in an interview with our correspondent in Calabar on
Saturday, Ekpo said there was the urgent need for INEC to
re-delineate the Bakassi constituency to save the people from being
disenfranchised during the general elections.

Ekpo, who was the attorney general between 2003 and 2007 during
the administration of Mr. Donald Duke, said re-delineating the area
would properly reintegrate the displaced people of Bakassi who had
lost their ancestral homes to Cameroon after the ceding of the
Peninsula.

He said, “The Supreme Court’s call on INEC to as a matter of
urgency re-delineate the boundary between Akpabuyo and Bakassi is
an advisory note. INEC should obey. Supreme Court judgment is on
issues.

“The ruling is based on whether or not the people of Bakassi
need political representation but when you read the judgement, you
will see that the people of Bakassi do not have representation
because INEC has not delineated their boundary.’’