The following are Rt. Honourable Essien Ekpenyong Ayi’s Contributions as a member of the House Representatives of Nigeria:
Rt. Honourable Essien Ekpenyong Ayi was elected as the member of the Federal House of Representatives in 2003.
He was chairman Committee on Labour Employment & Productivity.
Has served as the Chairman Committee on Niger Delta Affairs for two terms which oversights Presidential Amnesty Program and Niger Delta Affairs Ministry. He also serves as Sub Committee Chairman on Liquidfield Natural Gas, he was Deputy chairman committee on Lottery.
Apart from serving as Committee Chairman, he also was a member of several other committees including serving as Sub Committee Chairman on Independent and Major Oil Marketers, Member Committee on Air Force, Member Committee on Navy, Member Committee on Environment, Member Committee on Petroleum Upstream, and Member Petroleum Downstream, Member Committee on Gas, Member Committee on Sports, Member Committee on Customs, Member Committee on FCT, Member Committee on FCT Councils, Member Committee on NDDC, Member Committee on Finance, Member Committee on Appropriation, Vice Chairman Legal Sub Committee on National Assembly Constitutional Review, Member Ad-hoc Committee on the Decay in the Nigeria Customs Services, Member Ad-hoc Committee on Investigation of the Type of Cement and Quality Produced in Nigeria.
Rt. Hon. Essien Ekpenyong Ayi led the Delegation of the House of Representatives Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity to the International Labour Organization (ILO) annual World Conference, three consecutive times to Geneva, Switzerland. Also was a member of the International Visitors Conference, Washington DC, USA.
He was also a Member of the National Assembly Delegation to the inauguration of Pan African Parliament, Member National Assembly Delegation for the inauguration of African Union in Ethiopia, Member Nigerian Delegation to African Nations Cup in Cairo, Egypt, Member Nigerian Delegation to World Cup in Spain, Member National Assembly Delegation Investigate Schlumbeger in Paris, Member National Assembly Delegation to the United States House of Representatives to study the United States Gas Act, National Assembly Delegation to Boston for the Boston Gas Conference, USA, Member National Assembly Delegation to the United Nations General Assembly as an Observer in New York, Member House of Representatives Committee on Customs to Study the Customs Services of Turkey in Istanbul, Holland in Netherlands, Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto in Canada, Washington DC in the United States of America, 2 Times Member of the Delegation to Offshore Technology Conference OTC in Houston, Texas, USA, through the committee on Gas and committee on Petroleum, Member House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation Retreat to Dubai, Led the Committee on Labour and Productivity to understudy the Labour Acts of Ghana in Accra, Led the Delegation to witness the Graduation of Amnesty Students in London, Britain, and Boston, USA, etc.
Rt. Hon. Essien Ekpenyong Ayi has sponsored several Motions and Bills. He was the first House Member in the history of Nigeria to question through a Motion the plights of Nigeria pensioners in a Motion titled: A Motion On The Plights of Pensioners in Nigeria. Other Motions include the “Non Compliance To Expatriate Quota By Companies Operating in Nigeria.
Rt. Hon Essien Ayi was the first House Member to raise cursory eyebrows on the incessant Bristow Helicopters crashes in a Motion titled “The Need to Investigate The Incessant Bristow Helicopter Crashes in Nigeria. The Motion was quickly acted on and the House of Representatives set up an adhoc committee to proceed for that investigation. He also sponsored the Motion for the “The Improved Funding For The Amnesty Program and A Suitable Strategic Plan To End Militancy In The Niger Delta.”
Rt. Hon Essien Ekpeyong Ayi sponsored the Bill for an Act to Establish the Chartered Institute of Risk and Loan Management. He sponsored the Bill for the establishment of the Chartered Institute of Entrepreneurs to Regulate and Control the Practice of Entrepreneurship and for other Related Matters. He also sponsored the Bill for an Act to Incorporate Annex 12 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation 1944 into Nigerian Law: To Establish the Nigerian Search and Rescue Service, and to Provide for Matters Connected Therewith. He also sponsored a Bill for An Act to Establish the Presidential Amnesty Program, this was because the Amnesty Scheme was a presidential fiat without a law of the parliament to back it. This was passed by the House of Representatives, and forwarded to the Senate for concurrence.
He led the Debate on “The Bill For An Act To Establish Bakassi Resettlement and Development Commission and Related Matters.” This Bill has been forwarded for second reading. There has never been anyone so passionate about the plights of the Bakassi people more than Rt. Hon Essien Ekpenyong Ayi.
It was for his agitation that then President Olusegun Obasanjo ordered that he be suspended from the House of Representatives when he moved a motion stopping the ceding of Bakassi to Cameroon and the Motion was overwhelmingly passed by the House of Representatives. He also moved a motion on the proper resettlement of the Bakassi people., after ten years of the ceding of Bakassi to Cameroon, the ICJ Act stated that a country can ask for a review of a judgment after ten years. Rt. Hon Essien Ekpenyong Ayi moved a Motion on the Review of ICJ Judgment on Bakassi, and concurrently, the same Motion was moved by Senator Abdul Ningi in the Senate. Which then warranted the then President of Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan to invite Rt. Hon Essien Ekpeyong Ayi and Senator Ningi with the Governors of Cross River and Akwa Ibom State, Senator Liyel Imoke and Dr. Godswill Akpabio respectively, including the then Senate President, Senator David Mark and Senator Eke Ekweremmadu, Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and his Deputy Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, and the then Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), and the UN mixed commission on Bakassi, where it was overwhelmingly agreed that Nigeria should go for the review, but the then Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, SAN, frustrated the efforts that the time was too short for him to act.
After all efforts by Rt. Hon Essien Ekpeyong Ayi made to stop the ceding and recover back the ceded portion of Bakassi back to Nigeria failed, he then moved a Motion to conduct a referendum for the people of Bakassi to decide whether they want to belong to Nigeria or Cameroon. This Motion was overwhelmingly passed. But was still frustrated by the same Attorney General of the Federation who refused to go to the UN to ask for a referendum. It is only a country that can go to the UN and request for a referendum.
Rt. Hon Essien Ekpenyong Ayi who also doubles as an Apostle in Peniel Church of God is the Chairman of the Cross River Caucus in the House of Representatives, and was the Chairman South South Caucus of the 7th Assembly.
He has always kept an open door policy to all his constituents and has remained the most accessible politician of all time in Cross River State.
Rt. Hon. Essien Ayi has also contributed to infrastructure growth in Akpabuyo/Bakassi/Calabar South Federal Constituency. He has also contributed to the human capacity development in the constituency.
No doubt, in 2023, God’s willing, Rt. Hon Essien Ekpenyong Ayi will be a key member in the leadership category of the House of Representatives in.
Now that Rt. Honourable Essien Ekpenyong Ayi has listed his personal contribution to the development of the Legislature. Now, let Rt. Honourable Joseph Bassey publish his contributions in the Cross River House of Assembly.
By Essien Ayi Media.
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