Legislator Moses Essien of Akwa Ibom State has argued that farmers should have easier access to metropolitan markets, which would increase food production, and has therefore pushed for the building of highways in farming villages to facilitate the evacuation of food.
According to Essien, who represents the mostly rural Ibiono Ibom State Constituency, farmers in his area do not have access to highways that would allow them to transport their crops to urban markets.
While interacting with reporters in Uyo, Essien—who recently defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)—lamented the lack of access roads for farmers in the area. He was a former member of the Young Progressive Party (YPP).
In my constituency, there are a number of farming settlements, and I’m writing to ask for the construction of access roads for them. We have arable land, but we can’t get our crops to metropolitan markets without access roads, he remarked.
According to Essien, traditional rulers were also included in his economic development project, which he said had distributed N10 million as a grant for the benefit of the constituency’s young, women, and seniors.
It is his belief that the mineral resources of Ibiono Ibom, particularly marble, might be utilised to manufacture items such as toilet goods and breakable plates. He argues that these resources should be utilised in order to generate riches for the people.
House Committee on Health Chairman Essien was overjoyed to witness the formation of the state Health Insurance Board and said he looks forward to seeing the programme fully implemented across the state.
He said that the state assembly’s health committee would soon be touring several health centres and secondary health facilities around the state to address their concerns, such as the apparent lack of professionalism displayed by medical professionals.
Speaking on the recent cholera outbreak, he assured the public that the assembly would keep pushing for improved personal hygiene practices and would collaborate with the state’s health ministry to fight the disease.
According to Essien, several of the corked oil wells in his district flooded, causing widespread destruction and posing a serious economic risk to his constituents.
“We will visit the site to ascertain their viability soon, the oil should now be in commercial quantities for exploitation,” he said.
He claimed that his decision to leave the YPP for the PDP was not an individual one, but rather a result of pressure from his supporters who wanted him to follow other high-ranking YPP officials in defecting to the PDP.
