The Akwa Ibom Indigenes Organisation in South Africa (AKIOSA) has appealed to state governor Umo Eno for emergency financial support for hundreds of indigenes hit by the recent wave of xenophobic attacks.
In a letter to the governor, the group’s executive president, Dr Akaninyene F. Willie, said many Akwa Ibom families had been displaced and now lacked accommodation and basic means of survival.
Willie described the situation as a humanitarian crisis, noting that traders, artisans and professionals had lost businesses and livelihoods as shops were looted and destroyed, leaving many traumatised.
While acknowledging the engagement of the governor’s diaspora aide, Linda Akon Umoh, the organisation said the crisis now demanded direct financial intervention.
It asked for an emergency stabilisation fund for food and medical relief, short-term housing help for the displaced, and grants to help ruined traders restock and reopen their businesses.
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