In every democracy, political contestation is legitimate, but so is the demand for truth. As the political atmosphere around the Obudu/Bekwarra/Obanliku Federal Constituency becomes increasingly charged, claims and counterclaims are bound to emerge. Yet beneath the noise of political rhetoric lies a more enduring question: what does the evidence say? The record presented by Rt. Hon. Peter Akpanke’s representation over the past three years provides a basis upon which assertions about his performance can be examined. Where allegations are made, they deserve evidence; where achievements are claimed, they deserve verification. The people deserve nothing less than a contest of facts, not a competition of narratives.
To dismiss three years of representation without confronting the reported interventions across the constituency would be to overlook a substantial body of work. The record includes 51+ completed projects, ongoing and awarded projects, with interventions spanning education, healthcare, water, sanitation, rural roads, solar-powered street lighting, telecommunications and community infrastructure. These are not merely words contained in political speeches; they are claims capable of being tested on the ground. A classroom block can be visited. A borehole can be inspected. A streetlight can be seen. A road can be travelled. A telecommunications facility can be verified. Consequently, the most credible response to claims about performance is neither abuse nor counter-abuse, but the simple discipline of verification.
Nowhere is the human dimension of the reported record more profound than in education and healthcare. The distribution of 900 JAMB forms over three years, support for 54 Law School students, scholarships, assistance to vulnerable students and transportation support for over 920 students represents interventions directed at keeping educational dreams alive. In healthcare, the reported 10,456 beneficiaries, 112 surgeries and 19 surgical referrals tell another story. Behind every figure is a human being whose circumstances were affected. A statistic may be written in a report, but somewhere behind that statistic is a student who gained an opportunity, a family relieved of financial pressure or a patient whose suffering was addressed. Such claims should be independently verified—but neither should they be casually erased by political rhetoric.
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The same record extends into the everyday necessities of community life. Solar-powered boreholes have reportedly been installed in communities and markets including Sankwala, Obudu Main Market, Abouchiche, Bebuankayang and Bayaga, while solar-powered streetlights have been deployed across numerous locations in Obudu, Bekwarra and Obanliku. Telecommunications connectivity has also reportedly been facilitated in several underserved communities. These interventions matter because development is not always found in grand monuments; sometimes it is found in the simple transformation of darkness into light, distance into connectivity and the absence of water into access. The proper question, therefore, is not whether political opponents approve of these interventions, but whether the projects exist, whether they function and whether the people have benefited.
Beyond physical infrastructure lies another important dimension: human-capital development and economic empowerment. The reported distribution of more than 200 grinding machines, more than 200 sewing machines, motorcycles, agricultural inputs, fertiliser, vocational training and startup support demonstrates an attempt to respond to livelihoods and economic vulnerability. The reported facilitation of employment and placements involving the EFCC, NDLEA, Nigeria Police Force, Federal College of Education, Obudu, National Orthopaedic Hospital and the Cross River State Civil Service likewise forms part of the record that can be subjected to documentary verification. These are precisely the areas where political claims should meet appointment letters, beneficiary registers, project records and other verifiable evidence.
Legislative representation also deserves its proper place in the assessment. A Federal legislator is not elected solely to facilitate physical projects; he is also expected to legislate, advocate, petition and raise matters of public concern. The reported interventions concerning the proposed Federal University of Technology, Obanliku; rehabilitation of the Obudu Dam Resort; Cross River territorial concerns; students of the University of Calabar; public procurement; and insecurity demonstrate an attempt to utilise the legislative platform for constituency and broader public interests. Consequently, any assessment of Peter Akpanke’s tenure should examine both dimensions of representation: what has been brought home and what has been taken to Abuja on behalf of the people. Neither dimension should be sacrificed on the altar of political convenience.
Ultimately, the people of Obudu, Bekwarra and Obanliku deserve a political conversation elevated above personalities, insults and sweeping declarations. If a claim is made about Peter Akpanke’s performance, let the specific claim be stated; let the evidence be produced; let the relevant project, document or beneficiary be examined; and let the facts determine the conclusion. If there are shortcomings, they should be acknowledged and interrogated. If achievements are claimed, they should equally be verified and properly credited. Politics may generate noise, but records generate history. And when the rhetoric fades, what remains is the evidence of what was done, what was achieved, what was left undone and how public responsibility was exercised. That is why, in assessing the past three years, the fairest response to every political claim is simple and timeless: let the facts speak.
