Protests by young people from the Akon-Itam village in the Itu local government area of Akwa Ibom State have persisted after the convoy of Senator Akon Eyakenyi, who represents the Eket senatorial district (Akwa Ibom South), killed a married couple on the Calabar-Itu Highway.
The incident occurred as the convoy returned to Uyo, the state capital, from a campaign stop.
In the forthcoming elections in 2023, Senator Eyakenyi will be the deputy governorship candidate for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), alongside Pastor Umo Eno, the party’s candidate for governor.
Comrade Utibe Inyang, one of the heartbroken youth, said in an interview with members of the press that the convoy collided with the couple on a motorbike as it attempted to make its way across the constantly congested road that connects neighbouring Calabar, which is located in the state of Cross River.
According to him, the management of the compensation package that the senator gave to the family of the dead, which consisted of a “paltry N2 million,” made the issue even worse.
When asked about the couple’s three young children, Inyang said, “The husband and wife killed by her convoy left behind three young children; so the pains we are feeling now are because of the disdainful attitude demonstrated by the deputy governorship candidate without considering how these young orphans would be trained and developed without their parents.”
It was reported that locals attacked and injured the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) members who had been dispatched to the site to manage traffic. Still, the corps commander in the state, Mathew Olonisaye, who spoke with our correspondent, insisted that “only our vehicle was damaged.” He claimed that everything was back to normal now that the matter was under control.
Mr Olatoye Durosinmi, the commissioner of police, reported that peace had been restored to the neighbourhood after productive negotiations had led to the parties involved adopting a peaceful stance.