20/04/2026
2027 Politics: Why ONNA Should Give Elder Sunday Johnny Another Four Years
In many communities and climes, politics is something people only remember during election season and majorly about rhetoric, loud promises, colourful rallies, and then nothing to take home afterwards. But in ONNA Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, the conversation is shifting from promises to presence, from speeches to lived experience because of one easy going gentleman of class.
It is in the hum of a generator powering a small shop at dusk. It is in the relief of clean water flowing from a borehole that didn’t exist a few years ago. It is in the quiet pride of a young person who finally has a job after years of waiting.
These are not grand political statements. They are human stories and are verifiable.
Hon. Elder Sunday Johnny’s time in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly may be measured officially by four bills and eight motions, but on the ground, his scorecard reads differently. It is seen in individuals who now earn a living, in communities linked by newly graded access roads, and in schools where new blocks offer a better learning environment for children.
At the local market, traders speak less about policy and more about practicality. The construction of stalls by Hon. J***y Sunday has given structure to their businesses. For them, governance is the difference between selling under harsh conditions and operating with some dignity.
Then there was the April empowerment programme, a moment many in and outside ONNA still talk about. Vehicles, tricycles, and motorcycles distributed to beneficiaries did more than create headlines, they created mobility and income. For a commercial rider or a dispatch rider, a motorcycle is not just an asset, it is survival. For a woman who received vocational tools, it is a pathway to independence.
In homes across the constituency, similar stories unfold. Sewing machines, haircut kits, and industrial equipment are quietly transforming livelihoods. The inclusion of physically challenged individuals in business grants has also struck a chord, offering a sense of belonging often missing in public programmes.
Of course, politics in ONNA, like anywhere else, is not without its tensions. There are competing interests, alliances, and the familiar undercurrents that shape electoral seasons. The constituency also operates a rotational system among its clans, a factor that always influences leadership conversations.
But beyond these dynamics, a more grounded reality persists and that people remember what touches their lives.
With Asuna Nung Oku having completed its turn in 2023 through Hon. Dr. Nse Essien, the baton moved to Awa Afaha, where Elder Sunday Johnny currently stands. As his first four years draw to a close, many constituents are weighing not just tradition, but continuity to complete a cycle of rotation.
For them, the argument is not built on political loyalty alone. It is built on experience and on what has changed, what has improved, and what still holds promise.
In the end, elections are decided by people who are beneficiaries of goodwill, projects and more and when these attributes begin to shape people’s lives in visible ways, they inevitably shape opinions too.
That is why, in homes and marketplaces across ONNA, a quiet sentiment is taking root and that is, if representation can be felt, perhaps it should be continued.
- Itoro Etti
