The restoration of the historic Control Post landmark in Ikot Ekpene is finally underway.

ICMS,Inc Reports,

By Tom Okure, Ph.D

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After more than three years of Akwa Ibom State government neglect and abandonment, work is finally ongoing towards the upgrade and restoration of Control Post.

Control Post is a famous road intersection in Ikot Ekpene 

Control Post is a historic and famous landmark in Ikot Ekpene and a famous road intersection (or junction) in the village of Ikot Ekpene where Uyo-Ikot Ekpene road and old Itu-Ikot Ekpene road and other local internal roads like Atan road in Ikot Ekpene converge.

Control Post is also the focal point of Ikot Ekpene village (Usug Ikot Ekpene) which the historic raffia city (town) and local government derives its name. Its historical significance is even more obvious when placed in the context of Ikot Ekpene being the location of the first British Colonial experimentation in local self-governance.

In the Control Post construction background can be seen another famous
building in Ikot Ekpene: The Four Point Hotel by Sheraton

During the Nigerian Civil war, the Nigerian army understood the strategic significance of maintaining its control of the state from invading Biafran soldiers and decided to stand its ground in Control Post. It also has always been an energetic center of commercial activity for the residence of Ikot Ekpene and the surrounding areas. One aspect of the political anger of the voters of Ikot Ekpene during the last governorship election can best be understood in the context of the above discussion.

The anger of many voters surged during the elections over the abandonment of the restoration of Control Post and the failure of the current state government to complete the controversial 25 kilometers Uyo-Ikot Ekpene dualized federal highway started by the former Godwill Akpabio’s administration. The political controversy over who was to blame for the lack of completion of Uyo-IKot Ekpene road and Control Post being the terminal point of the road construction pitted the two major political parties (PDP and APC) in the state vying for political power and control of the state government.

The writer visiting the site of the abandoned Control Post in 2018

Politically and in retrospective, one can argue that restoration of construction was inevitable and a win win situation for Ikot Ekpene voters no matter which political party won the governorship elections in the state.  This is because both political parties vowed to revive the road construction and restoration of the abandoned Control Post which had become an eyesore and a major point of flooding preventing access to Ikot Ekpene city from Uyo-Ikot Ekpene road or from old Itu-Ikot Ekpene road.

Construction of an expensive project such as the Uyo-Ikot Ekpene road should never be started without a special dedicated budget fund to accomplish the task over a period of years. Budgetary revenues would be released annually as planned project targets are accomplished until the planned infrastructure/project is completed. The dilemma that Akwa Ibom State constantly faces as we witnessed in the abandonment of the dualiization of Uyo-Ikot-Ekpene federal road is the lack of capital planning foresight and the failure to build into the state government capital budget for projects a contingency budget to accommodate unforeseen circumstances (like the fall in oil revenues) as Nigeria and the state government is constantly experiencing.

The abandoned Control Post became an eyesore and a major flooding point in Ikot Ekpene city.

With the resumption of construction of the Uyo-Ikot Ekpene dualized federal highway road and active work going on towards rehabilitation of Control Post, high tribal voter tempers and criticism of the current Akwa Ibom State Government appears to have been abated. This writer gathers that the original plan for the dualized highway and Control post which incorporated a flyover bridge may not be realized due to cost considerations related to completion of the project.

Nevertheless, there is a sense of relieve among Ikot Ekpene residence that something is finally being done.  The current State administration of Governor Emmanuel Udom must be applauded for fulfilling a major political promise to fully reconstruct and modernize Control Post. We look forward to a revitalized Control Post community where economic activity is restored following the completion of the long awaited Uyo-Ikot Ekpene road by December 2019 as promised by the state government.  

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All rights reserved by Tom Okure, Ph.D President and CEO of Inter-Continental Mgt. Systems, Inc (or ICMS, Inc). The information included in this article may not be used, reproduced, transmitted, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written permission of ICMS, Inc. The author Dr. Tom Okure is President of ICMS, Inc, a multifaceted business and management consulting firm with its head office in Albany, New York. Dr. Okure is a writer, author, business/management consultant, public policy advisor and commentator and a change advocate.