Architect Mfon Akpabio: The Most Irritating Public Servant in ONNA

Architect Mfon Akpabio: The Most Irritating Public Servant in ONNA

By Ab Tom

Let it be placed on record that I do not like Arch. Mfon Akpabio.
I have tried very hard to dislike him properly. I have searched for flaws. Likewise, I have waited for scandal. Furthermore, I have anticipated the usual disappointments that accompany public office. Sadly, he has refused to cooperate.

Some people make themselves easy targets. They arrive in public life armed with arrogance, speak loudly to hide incompetence, and mistake titles for talent. Arch. Akpabio is guilty of none of these crimes. His offense is more severe and far less forgivable. He works. Excessively. Quietly. Consistently. And in doing so, he exposes the rest of us.

At exactly 2.25 a.m. on the first morning of 2026, while fireworks tore through the night sky and burning tyres announced celebrations nobody had earned, I stood by my window unconvinced. The excitement was loud, confident, and suspiciously premature. People were celebrating a year they had not prepared for and welcoming a future they had not negotiated with. Beneath the noise lay an uncomfortable truth. 2026 would not be kind. It would demand effort, discipline, and work.

Naturally, my mind drifted to someone who takes these things far too seriously.

Arch. Mfon Akpabio.

In a country where many men wake up to power only to return immediately to sleep, Arch. Akpabio stands out like an irritation. Trained as an architect and wired for precision, he is among the professionals who have helped shape and reshape Nigeria’s architectural thinking. He has worked for governors and institutional heavyweights whose names alone command silence. And yet, in a move that defies conventional ambition, he currently serves as secretary to the ONNA Local Government Area.

One would expect such a position to teach him the sacred rituals of political leisure. It has failed spectacularly.

Arch. Akpabio is not a conventional politician, if by politician we mean someone fluent in excuses, selective deafness, and ceremonial seriousness. He does not hoard power. He does not weaponize office. Instead, he insists on working consistently, quietly, and relentlessly, a behavior that is widely considered antisocial in public service.

There are things I genuinely dislike about this. Chief among them is that he makes many people look lazy without ever saying a word. His work ethic has a way of irritating mediocrity. Excellence, as history has shown us, has never been popular among those who profit from average.

This irritation stirred old memories. In primary and secondary school, brilliance was treated as arrogance. Neatness was interpreted as pride. Intelligence was a social offense. I remember speaking my broken English, patiently taught by my father, only to be isolated by my peers. My crime was difference. I apologized, lowered myself, and was welcomed back into mediocrity.

That same mindset thrives today, especially in politics, where accessibility is mistaken for weakness and humility is considered a threat to authority.

Arch. Mfon Akpabio, unfortunately, did not get that memo. He is accessible. He listens. Furthermore, he returns calls. Not only that, but he responds. In a political culture where silence is often mistaken for importance, his responsiveness feels almost rebellious.

Does this man rest at all? Can he survive a day without his laptop? He works under hostile conditions, in inconvenient locations, with an ease that suggests he has misunderstood the meaning of public office. Weekends mean nothing to him. Comfort is optional. Results are compulsory. He delivers without drama, without noise, and without mercy for excuses.

His habits reminded me of 2010, when I served in the ONNA Local Government Council. In those days, official working days were Monday to Wednesday. Thursdays and Fridays were ceremonial holidays, except on allocation or disbursement days. Offices were often empty, yet salaries were remarkably punctual.

Under Hon. Kufre Umoren and Arch. Mfon Akpabio, that tradition has been rudely disrupted. Monday looks like Friday. Friday behaves like Monday. Work has returned to dignity. Time has become relevant again. Staff are alert, accountable, and visibly uncomfortable, which is usually a sign that something is finally working.

The office of Secretary to the Local Government is merely borrowing Arch. Akpabio’s capacity. It does not own it. ONNA, and perhaps Akwa Ibom State, should begin thinking beyond containment and towards deployment. This is a man clearly unsuited for small expectations.

Journalism is frequently mistaken as a profession dedicated solely to criticism. It is not. It is also about observation and honest acknowledgement. By that duty, and without forming any committee or consulting any authority, I declare Arch. Mfon Akpabio is my Man of the Year 2025. This recognition is unofficial, unsolicited, and probably inconvenient, but it is earned.

The Chairman of ONNA Local Government, Hon. Kufre Umoren, could not have asked for a better partner in governance. Some alliances are political. Others are providential.

As 2026 unfolds, tough and unromantic, there is a lesson hidden here. Survival will not come from noise, titles, or fireworks. It will come from work, discipline, and sincerity.

In Arch. Mfon Akpabio, I found not just a public servant, but a metaphor for a year that will reward only those willing to labour.

Welcome to 2026.
May we all be as irritatingly diligent as he is.

Abasiubong Tom ✍🏿