Some human rights activists and leaders of civil society organisations in Akwa Ibom State have insisted that each group operates as an entity in the state and not as a forum.
They said there was nothing called “Akwa Ibom Civil Society Organisations Forum” as assumed, and disowned the existence of such a platform.
Addressing a press conference in Uyo over the weekend, the Director of the Centre for Human Rights and Accountability Network, CHRAN, Franklyn Isong, and the convener of the Akwa Ibom Human Rights Community, AKHRC, Barr Clifford Thomas, alongside others, said they don’t recognise such a forum and called on its chairman, Harry Udoh, to stop seeing himself as chairman of a “non-existent forum.”
They said, “Information has it that Harry Udoh parades himself in such a manner in public functions before unsuspecting members of Akwa Ibom as the chairman of Akwa Ibom Civil Society Forum.
“There is no umbrella civil society organisation in Akwa Ibom State known or recognised as ‘Akwa Ibom Civil Society Forum’.”
They said they have taken steps to ensure that the law enforcement agencies in the state were notified and urged the public to also take note, as Udoh does not speak for or represent civil society organisations operating in Akwa Ibom.
When contacted for a reaction, Harry Udoh dismissed the stance of the CSOs, saying they are not members of the forum which, according to him, was duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, in 2012 as the Guild of Community Development Advocates in Akwa Ibom.
According to him, “Akwa Ibom Civil Society Organisations Forum is registered with CAC and has Non Governmental Organisations working in the state as its members. We have a Chairman, Exco and board of trustees. We have been in operation long before 2012 but duly registered with CAC in 2012. We focus on development work partnering with development agencies like the EU, the disbanded USAID. So, those saying all these stuffs are not our members, we don’t know them and we can’t account for them.”
