A group of reviewers, consisting of journalists, activists, and academics, has named Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, representing Cross River South Senatorial district, as the most outstanding national assembly member from Cross River in past year.
It be recalled that the 10th Assembly recently marked its first anniversary on June 13.
Under the guidance of Dr Inyali Peter, the reviewers revealed that they were provided with performance evaluations from six of the state’s eleven national assembly members, either directly from the lawmakers or their aides. For the remaining five members, their performance was assessed by analysing their social media posts, allowing the reviewers to arrive at thorough conclusions.
Presenting the group’s report in a statement, Dr Inyali said that of the four metrics: motions, bills, empowerment, and infrastructure they used in measuring the achievements of the national assembly members, Asuquo came top in all.
He revealed that Ekpenyong who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission has sponsored six bills, moved five motions carried out 15 key empowerments, and facilitated one hundred and thirty-six projects, including construction and reconstruction of sixteen roads in his senatorial district.
According to him, “We avoided speculation by reaching out to all national assembly members, requesting their scorecards. Six out of eleven responded, while five didn’t. We verified the claims made by the six who submitted their scorecards and analyzed the social media updates of the remaining five, either directly or through their aides, to ensure a comprehensive evaluation.
“Upon concluding our review, we are pleased to acknowledge that the current national assembly members from the state have demonstrated commendable performance over the past year. Notably, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong emerged as the most outstanding among them, excelling in all evaluation metrics.
He demonstrated exceptional performance in legislation, project execution, and empowerment initiatives, surpassing his colleagues in these areas”.
He stressed the importance of highlighting that Senator Ekpenyong’s high rating does not take away from the accomplishments of other legislators. He mentioned that all of them have done well, and there is a positive sense of competition among them to do even better. A different lawmaker may surpass the rest in next year’s assessment.
The statement also ranked Senator Jarigbe Agom, representing Cross River North senatorial district, as the second-highest performer, while Honourable Peter Akpanke, representing Obudu/Bekwerra/Obanliku federal constituency, emerged third overall and top-performing representative among the eight members from the state.
Inyali added that he and his team are striving to establish this evaluation exercise as an annual tradition, aiming to foster greater citizen engagement and accountability in leadership within the state.
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