EKET, AKWA IBOM STATE— Amidst the background of a drawn-out and violent common crisis in between the Ekid and Ibeno ethnic groups, the Proprietor of Heritage Polytechnic, Mr Emmanuel Ekott, has actually lauded his trainees for preserving an “island of peace” within the institution.
Speaking on Saturday, April 18, 2026, throughout the polytechnic’s combined 17th admission and 15th convocation ceremonies, Ekott applauded the student body for declining to enable tribal departments to disrupt their academic pursuit, in spite of the billions of naira in residential or commercial property damage and death recorded in the neighbouring host communities.
Dealing with a diverse audience of graduands and new intakes, Ekott stressed that the polytechnic’s gates work as a filter against ethnic labels.
He challenged the trainees of Ibeno and Ekid extraction to prioritise their shared identity as scholars over ancestral complaints.
“When you stroll through our gates, you leave behind tribal labels. Understanding knows no ethnic borders. The laws of physics and the principles of mathematics do not distinguish between Ekid and Ibeno,” Ekott stated.
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A Review of the Status Quo
In a bold departure from standard diplomatic rhetoric, Ekott criticised the present stance of community senior citizens and leaders, explaining their positions as outdated and harmful to the area’s image.
He argued that the stagnancy triggered by the conflict is a bad tradition to bestow to the youth.
“These positions belong to a past we should purposely leave behind,” he remarked, keeping in mind that the courtroom is not the only place where communal peace can be brokered.
He worried that no significant development has actually ever emerged from “the womb of discord.”
Call for a Genuine Peace Discussion
The Heritage Polytechnic employer made a passionate appeal to traditional rulers and politicians in both the Eket and Ibeno Local Government Areas to convene an authentic discussion.
He recommended that the students’ durability is proof that the more youthful generation is prepared for reconciliation.
Beyond the peace advocacy, the combined ceremony marked a significant milestone for the private institution, which continues to provide technical and vocational education to the South-South region.
By effectively hosting the 17th admission and 15th convocation in the middle of external discontent, the polytechnic showed its logistical stability and dedication to undisturbed scholastic cycles.
The declaration, released by the institution’s press system, concluded with a call to invest in the future of the youth instead of sustaining the “grief and stagnation” of the past.
As the new matriculants take their oaths, the university community stays an enthusiastic plan for the wider peace desired by the people of Akwa Ibom State.