From Joe Effiong, Uyo
Ekid Peoples’ Union, a socio-cultural organisation, has lamented the neglected state of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Channel 35, built, equipped, staffed and test run by the federal government more than 15 years ago in Eket, Akwa Ibom State.
Touring the facility on Monday, the President General of Ekid People’s Union, Dr Samuel Udonsak, wondered why such a worthwhile and peoples oriented project, with enormous potentials for socio-political development of the Ekid Nation and Akwa Ibom State should be abandoned only after completion.
Dr Udonsak called on the relevant authorities to as a matter of urgency and expediency, commence the reactivation of the station in keeping with the ongoing digital switch-over in the information sector.
‘We cannot allow such a huge and viable investment to waste, when it could have satiated the hunger and genuine need that exists for an NTA station in Ekid Nation,’ he said.
Dr Samuel Udonsak said the Union would be pleased to partner with the NTA with a view to addressing any obstacles or impediments that may be, to the reactivation of the Station and called on management of NTA Uyo to embark on a fact finding and audit tour of the facility to ascertain the status of the equipment, so the station can be put to use as soon as possible.
In his reaction, Chief Nduese Essien, a two-term House of Representatives member and former Minister of Land and Housing, who was said to have attracted the station to Eket, said that the equipment in the station were planted when he was Minister while the station was built during his tenure in the National Assembly.
The Elder statesman also wondered what went wrong for such edifice and information centre to be abandoned after completion.
An investigation carried out by our correspondent revealed that workers who were posted to the station many years ago are still on salary but without a place of work but security guards were noticed at the premises of the station.