LunagisthubEsighi Community Forum rejects “Day Spring” LGA, demands development of present Bakassi LGA
The Esighi Community Forum has formally rejected calls for the creation of a separate “Day Spring LGA.” from the present Bakassi LGA. Instead, they are pressing on the Federal and State Governments to prioritize developing the existing Bakassi LGA.
The Forum in their position paper, presented by AIG Ene Okon (Rtd) at the just concluded House of Representative Constitutional Review Public Hearing in Calabar on the 19th of July, 2025, strongly opposed recent calls, including petitions by the so‑called Indigenous Displaced People of Bakassi Communities (IDPBC), to designate Day Spring 1 & 2 and Kwa Island as a new Local Government Area. They argue that these Areas were never historically part of the original Bakassi Peninsula (that was ceded in totality), but are under Esighi/Ikang jurisdiction and questioned the legitimacy of the IDPBC’s claims to those territories.
The Forum also rejected any proposed “Development Area” with the name “Day Spring” while emphasizing that efforts to annex Esighi land amount to “selfish and greed‑driven” political maneuvering .
According to the Forum, Ine Inua Esighi village, which appears on official Cross River State maps and Edict No. 1 of 1996, has always belonged to Esighi Clan and not to be relabelled as part of Day Spring or Kwa and attempts to reassign these Islands are therefore considered fraudulent and divisive .
Rather than supporting the creation of another LGA with such a name, the Esighi Forum is urging both the Federal and State Governments to focus on enhancing infrastructure and service delivery in the existing Bakassi LGA. Their call aligns with longstanding demands for equitable use of Local Government allocations for the rebuilding and development of the present Bakassi LGA.
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