Prominent Towns in Cross River

Akpabuyo/ Akpabio
Latitude:   5.3408       Lat (DMS)   5° 20' 27N
Longitude: 7.9642       Long (DMS)           7° 57' 51E
Elevation (Feet): 354
Population Est.:  271,395
Zipcode:  541

History

Akpabuyo is one of the popular towns in Cross river and it also a loca government council, the major ethnic groups are the Efiks, Quas and Efuts. The major languages spoken are Efik and English, while all the major ethnic groups share a common cultural and ancestral heritage. The people of Akpabuyo Local Government Area are predominantly farmers and fishermen. Akpabuyo is a major producer of of cassava, cocoyam, kola nut, coconut, palm produce as well as sea foods. The land is rich in mineral deposits such as petroleum deposits, gold, limestone, sand and slat deposits to mention a few. All these are available in commercial quantities for prospective explorers.
In line with Efik tradition and the importance attached to their monarchs and the royal heritage of Prince Eyo, a befitting edifice was constructed and subsequently commissioned on the 18th of April, 2000, alongside other Council projects, in order to accord our Royal Fathers, the custodians of our great culture, the respect and dignity they deserve. In line with this, the present administration formally inaugurated the Akpabuyo Traditional Rulers Committee with Etinyin J. L. E. Duke, emerging its first Chairman.
The Akpabuyo Investment Company Limited (AICO) was established and incorporated to break the monopoly of the existing capital market, diversify from over dependence on the Federal Allocation, create investment, generate additional revenue and also provide employment opportunities for Cross Riverians.
The Akpabuyo Investment Company (AICO) is a holdings company, with the following subsidiaries: Farms and Estate Development, Transport Services, Finance Investment and Business Development, Energy and allied matters, hence, the establishment of the Petrol Station to be commissioned later this year.
Akpabuyo Local Government Area which measures approximately 28.5 square kilometres is predominantly an agricultural area, and it is known as the Food Basket of Cross River State. Thus, the agricultural policy of the Local Government Council is to boost goods and crop production, as well as encourage foreign investors to establish allied industries to supplement the existing ones. Akpabuyo Local Government is very rich in forest resources, which comprise several species of wood, which can support large-scale furniture and building ventures for both domestic consumption and export.
The Barrister Prince Eyo Okon Eyo-led administration assumed office in June 1999 with an unenviable burden of putting into reality the campaign promises of making Akpabuyo a paradigm of rural development in Cross River State. This fact it has achieved through the prudent use of its scarce resources to provide development projects, which has in turn ameliorated the living condition of the Akpabuyo people.
In the bid to bring justice to the grassroots and alleviate the logistic problems faced by the common people of Akpabuyo, while travelling to Calabar, the State capital, the present administration renovated the former Council of Chiefs' Chamber, the Akpabuyo High Court, Ikot Nakanda, which was commissioned by His Excellency, Mr. Donald Duke, Governor of Cross River State with several judges already posted. This has brought the institution of justice to the Local Government Area.
Even though Akpabuyo is an island, good drinking water has been a problem in the past. During the tenure of the present administration, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources in conjunction with the Cross River State Basin Development Authority, have commissioned the Esighi, Idebe and Ikang Water Schemes. These projects were commissioned by the Honourable Minister of Water Resources and the Minister of State respectively. The Cross River State Government has also sunk boreholes in various communities, thereby bringing potable drinking water to the people of Akpabuyo, who were in dire need of it.
In line with the Cross River State Government's Poverty Alleviation Programme, the cultivation of pineapple was introduced all over the state. Akpabuyo was not left out with a pilot pineapple farm at Ikot Effio-Enang which has 5.5 hectares. The Prince Eyo Okon Eyo-led administration in Akpabuyo Local Government Area of Cross River State has also established and recruited over a hundred unemployed sons and daughters of Akpabuyo into the Akpabuyo Intervention Squad (AIS). This is a security outfit, which provides both residential and industrial security; the pineapple farms and the Intervention Squad have provided job opportunities for thousands of unemployed youths in the area. Hence the administration's contribution to the Poverty Alleviation Programme
|Akpabuyo of today in aspect of Education and Health
In the education sector, Prince Eyo has renovated classroom blocks in primary schools in Akpabuyo. He has also given out contracts for new ones in some areas. His determination to ensure qualitative education at the grassroots, accounts for his prompt launching of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) on the 27th of May, 2000.
The present administration has awarded several scholarships, the most recent being the award of scholarships to three (3) children of Police Officers in Akpabuyo. Also to our credit is the prompt payment of the bursary to indigenous students in institutions of higher learning. A Vocational School has also been set up to train unskilled labour. This is a pet project of the wife of the Chairman, Mrs. Helen Okon Eyo. The Health sector has also received a boost, through the provision of hospital equipment to all the Health Centres in Akpabuyo. Again, all the National Immunization Days (NIDs) have been adequately carried out in the Local Government Area. The office of the wife of the Chairman has also donated prompt payment of staff health claims a priority and has donated to the surgical operation of an acid bath victim.
As a sports enthusiast, Prince Eyo has sponsored several sporting activities in Akpabuyo. Of note are the Chairman's Cup Competition, which is tagged "Prince Eyo Okon Eyo Cup." This is an annual soccer competition between all the ten (10) council wards. the Council has ben sponsoring Akpabuyo contingent to the yearly Boat Regatta competition in Calabar and has religiously marked the Independence Day Celebration, Armed Forces remembrance Day Celebration and children's day Celebration.

The chronicle will be incomplete without due mention of the cordial relationship that exists between the Government and the people of Akpabuyo. In April 2000, in recognition of the contribution of some indigenes to the development and creation of Akpabuyo Local Government Area, a Millennium Award ceremony was organised. Periodical meetings also take place between the Government and Traditional Rulers/chiefs, Staff, teachers and a cross section of the Akpabuyo society. Also of note is the new year party held for Traditional Rulers, men of the Nigerian Police Force and staff.
The administration draws its strength from the unalloyed support and absolute loyalty of the great people of Akpabuyo. Akpabuyo Local Government Area has gone through a very drastic transformation from a purely rural community to an urban city, with lots of investment and exploration opportunities for interested organisations.