By Samuel Queens – New York
The Akwa Ibom State Association of Nigeria USA, Inc. (AKISAN) has elected a new national president, ending a month-long internal squabble over procedural issues that threatened to split the 33-year-old 501 non-profit organization along factional lines.
The new president, Itoro Akpan-Iquot from Atlanta, Georgia, was elected by an overwhelming majority during the rescheduled 2020 virtual national convention of AKISAN held on Saturday 22nd August.
Akpan-Iquot beats two other candidates, Anyeama Aanamndu of Chicago, Illinois and Dr. Henry Mbosowo of Dallas, Texas, who both withdrew from the three-way race in protest over delegates count, which they alleged gave the eventual winner undue advantage over their respective chapters.
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The election result was announced by this year’s returning officer, Dr. Umoh, a university don.
The president-elect, Akpan-Iquot, is set to take over from the out-going national president, Margaret Itauma of Houston chapter, the second woman to lead the umbrella organization of Akwa Ibom in diaspora.
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Akpan-Iquot is expected to take the oath of office during a virtual swearing-in ceremony on Sunday, August 23, starting at 2.30pm U.S central time.
A web developer, the president – elect is the Chief Executive Officer of the Atlanta based ACE Web and Computer Company. Born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, his ancestral home is Ikot Ofon Ikono Ibom, in Uyo local government area. He lived briefly with his parents in Nigeria. He returned to the US in 1991, and studied information technology at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia. He and his wife, Edidiong, have four adorable daughters and a son.
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