Kinsmen of Senate President Godswill Akpabio in Essien Udim have called for an end to political exclusion in the distribution of government appointments, jobs and empowerment opportunities, insisting that competence, need and fairness should determine access to public benefits.

Speaking on the platform of E’Ekpede Initiative, Essien Udim Chapter, the people however declared their support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The group said public resources should not be treated as rewards for political loyalty, arguing that government has a responsibility to serve citizens regardless of their party affiliation or voting choices.

“When it is time to constitute the payroll, the emphasis ought to be on competence and service delivery. When it is time to offer employment, the priority should be capacity and need,” the group said in a statement issued by its Media Unit.

It also challenged political leaders to extend the principle of inclusion beyond election campaigns, asking why citizens were called upon to embrace inclusivity mainly when votes were needed. “The politics of exclusion that characterized past decades must not find space in the 21st century,” it declared.

According to the initiative, elected officials should see their mandates as obligations to the entire constituency and not as privileges reserved for supporters, stressing that “a mandate is a covenant with the entire constituency, not with a select few.”

The group, however, endorsed President Bola Tinubu, Akpabio, Governor Umo Eno and the APC candidates for Ikot Ekpene Federal Constituency and Essien Udim State Constituency in the 2027 elections, citing continuity, capacity and service delivery.

It urged its members and supporters to vote APC, saying the party should be retained to sustain projects, empowerment, infrastructure and other democratic benefits in Essien Udim and Akwa Ibom State, while pledging to continue pushing for greater inclusion and accountability in governance.