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CHRAN identifies Nsit Ubium, Mkpat Enin, Abak, Esit Eket, Ikono and Udung Uko among councils flagged for unsatisfactory project execution.
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Rights group urges the Assembly to summon the affected chairmen to explain how statutory allocations were spent.
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The organisation demands regular oversight visits and measurable performance benchmarks for all 31 local government areas.
October 09, (THEWILL) – The Centre for Human Rights and Accountability Network (CHRAN) has called on the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly to summon six local government chairmen over alleged poor project execution, despite the funds allocated to their councils.
The organisation urged the lawmakers to go beyond adopting an oversight report and compel the affected council chairmen to account for their stewardship, insisting that public officials must explain how statutory allocations are utilised.
CHRAN made the call in a statement dated October 9, 2026, signed by its Director, Otuekong Franklyn Isong, and the Secretary of Research and Documentation, Comrade Etimbuk Ekpenyong.
The organisation says it was reacting to the report of the House Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, led by Rt. Hon. Mfon Idung, following an inspection tour of the state’s 31 local government areas between June 26 and July 17, 2026.
The report, adopted at the Assembly’s plenary session on September 29, identified Nsit Ubium, Mkpat Enin, Abak, Esit Eket, Ikono and Udung Uko as councils whose project execution did not satisfactorily correspond with the funds received.
CHRAN commended the Assembly for what it described as a thorough and objective oversight exercise, particularly its decision to identify councils found wanting without exempting Nsit Ubium, the governor’s local government area.
It described the action as an example of fearless and non-partisan legislative oversight needed to strengthen accountability at the grassroots.
However, the organisation maintained that adopting the report would have little practical value without concrete measures to address the shortcomings identified.
It therefore urged the Assembly to formally summon the six council chairmen to explain how their statutory allocations were spent, why project execution fell short of expectations and what measures they intended to implement to correct the situation.
According to CHRAN, the chairmen should provide explanations on record before the people’s representatives, warning that failure to take further action could reduce the oversight exercise to a mere paper resolution without consequences for underperformance.
The group also called for periodic and structured oversight visits to all 31 local government areas, rather than relying on occasional inspection exercises.
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It urged the Assembly to establish clear, time-bound performance benchmarks that would enable the independent assessment of projects and the delivery of measurable results by local government administrations.
CHRAN further called on the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and the Chairman of the Local Government Service Commission, who were reportedly notified of the Assembly’s resolutions, to ensure that appropriate action was taken.
The organisation pledged to continue monitoring developments across the state’s 31 local government areas, promising to commend or condemn public officials based on their performance and the available facts.
