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| Prince Bassey |
Barely few days to the 2023 gubernatorial elections, the Prince Otu/Odey Support Organization (POOSO) has in strong terms condemn the ethnic sentiment and smear campaign carried out by the candidates of political parties in Cross River sate.
Speaking at a press briefing held, today in Calabar, the group's secretary, Chief Edwin Usang said the recent political moves and utterances of the governorship candidate of the People's Democratic Party Sen. Sandy Onor which harps on ethnicity and thuggery will not develop the state but rather tear the state apart.
He added that the leadership positions especially the Governorship seat has always been governed through senatorial districts, not ethnic divides, it was however surprising that a professor of history could go the wrong path of history to create a division where there is none in the state.
The statement also faulted Onor's statement on the South/Efiks producing more Vice Chancellors for the University of Calabar stating that such misinformation from a professor of history is capable of disintegrating the state.
"Prof. Sandy Onor was quoted as saying somewhere for instance, that the Southern
Senatorial District has produced all the Vice Chancellors in the University of Calabar.
But he forgets that two of those VCs are/were of Ejagham extractions; that is Late Prof.
Charles Effiong and Late Prof. Bassey Asuquo, just as Prof. Kelvin Etta from the Central Senatorial District also of Ejagham.
Seeds of discord and hatred which Sen. Onor's style of politics portrays have never led any society to sustainable peace and development but to backwardness, underdevelopment, and the attendant disintegration"
We also condemn Sen. Onor's penchant for thuggery which is already rearing its head with the recent attack for instance, on Barr. Ekpenyong Akiba, one of Sen. Prince Bassey Otu's Media Aides among others, during a certain event in Calabar. This is as we stoutly come against his (Sen. Onor's) purported endorsement by some mercantilist tendencies under the guise of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria. Thankfully, real and clean members of the Fellowship including the National Leadership of the body have dissociated from and denied their involvement in that procured endorsement thus making jest of the entire procurement
The statement reads in full:
Saturday, March 18, 2023, will see the people of the state line up to vote for the Governor and House of Assembly members of their choice. In the run-up to the elections, the All Progressives Congress, APC Governorship Candidate, Ntufam, Sen. Prince Bassey Edet Otu has canvassed for the support of the people by telling them what and how he intends to govern if given the mandate.
Through his People-first Manifesto, Sen. Otu has highlighted his priority areas including the economy, job creation, industrialization, infrastructure, human capital development, health, education, tourism, and general good governance.
But unfortunately, for the PDP Governorship Candidate, Sen. Sandy Onor, his focus has been to initiate and project desperate measures to the campaigns. He was the first in the court to see how to bring Sen. Prince Otu down over spurious claims.
Having failed in that attempt, he now resorts to playing the ethnic card and recently the violence option, as the last straw to cling on to his existence in the Governorship race. Thankfully, while this lasted, the popularity index of Sen. Prince Bassey Otu surged.
Prof. Sandy Onor was quoted as saying somewhere for instance, that the Southern
Senatorial District has produced all the Vice Chancellors in the University of Calabar.
But he forgets that two of those VCs are/were of Ejagham extractions; that is Late Prof.
Charles Effiong and Late Prof. Bassey Asuquo, just as Prof. Kelvin Etta from the Central Senatorial District also of Ejagham.
Seeds of discord and hatred which Sen. Onor's style of politics portrays have never led any society to sustainable peace and development but to backwardness, underdevelopment, and the attendant disintegration.
Historically speaking, until Sen. Onor's emergence as PDP Governorship Candidate and his campaign activities in the state, the Ejagham and the Efik people have had no conscious consideration of the tribal or ethnic divide between them. They live together as brothers and sisters and have a close affinity with one another. They agree socially and culturally through marriages, traditions, etc.
What Sen. Onor's campaign has attempted to achieve is to distort this long sense or history of unity, brotherliness, and affinity between brothers through a jaundice political consideration. Truly, Prof. Sandy Onor only attempts to foist on Cross Riverians an awareness of a failed and unacceptable academic thesis or presentation. This too has crashed!
Democratic Politics is beyond such agenda and distortions of history. It is about harmonious relationships and peaceful coexistence amongst people of different backgrounds and not the divisive tendencies which the PDP campaigns portray.
Unfortunately, this recent development of Sen. Onor shows he has lost touch with democratic realities.
Again, unfortunately, for the PDP candidate, the APC'S Sen. Prince Bassey Otu continues to gain amazingly huge popularity amongst the people of the state coming from his (Sen. Otu's) rich democratic credentials and good rapport with the people.
Cutting across ethnic and religious biases, Sen. Otu has been massively endorsed and accepted as the man who has the pedigree and character necessary to lead Cross River State and put in place a renewed aura of peace and prosperity in the land.
Recall has been made severally of his unprecedented people-oriented programmes including his empowerment initiatives while serving in both the Green and Red Chambers of the National Assembly. Perhaps, these facts about Sen. Otu have been the reason for the evil plots by the PDP Candidate to attempt a depletion of his popularity.
This in itself speaks of Sandy Onors descent into the abyss of irrelevance in the current political calculus.
We would therefore wish that rather than embark on a such wasteful venture, Prof. Onor should throw in the towel and allow the popular mandate of the people of Cross River State which is already within the threshold of the APC's Sen. Prince Bassey Otu to take Centre stage.
Our governorship election cannot be reduced to just ethnic consideration as against competence, capacity, general acceptability, and pedigree. God Forbid!
We also condemn Sen. Onor's penchant for thuggery which is already rearing its head with the recent attack for instance, on Barr. Ekpenyong Akiba, one of Sen. Prince Bassey Otu's Media Aides among others, during a certain event in Calabar. This is as we stoutly come against his (Sen. Onor's) purported endorsement by some mercantilist tendencies under the guise of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria. Thankfully, real and clean members of the Fellowship including the National Leadership of the body have dissociated from and denied their involvement in that procured endorsement thus making jest of the entire procurement.
Also to be highlighted here is the purported endorsement of Sandy Onor by Mr Peter Obi, the Labour Party Presidential Candidate. We can say categorically that the purported endorsement does not add up to the current political calculus and peculiarities in Cross River State, especially with the personality of our Candidate, Sen. Prince Bassey Edet Otu.
Mr Obi, we are sure, has no inkling what disposition to violence and backwardness, the PDP Candidate is made of and therefore would not want to dent or mix his mantra of goodwill and of advancement which informed his foray into the Presidential race with the story of violence, retrogression and of divisiveness that is characteristic of Sen. Sandy Onor's campaigns in the state.
However, if he does, it would only be unfortunate that the said endorsement would only lead to nowhere.
While we condemn these dastardly acts, we enjoin Cross Riverians to also rise and do the same regarding this very ugly development that has been introduced into our body politics by Sen. Sandy Onor.
There is everything wrong with a man who presents himself for the office of governor basically on an ethnic platform rather than on democracy dividends to the people and of course on the fortunes of the state.
We at the Prince Otu/Odey Support Organization (POOSO) join hands with others to urge the electorate in Cross River to reject Senator Sandy Onor in the March 18, 2023 elections because he does not have anything tangible to offer Cross Riverians except divisiveness, backwardness, and disintegration.
The electorate should vote for the APC that has zoned the governorship position to the Southern Senatorial District in line with the existing zoning arrangement in the state, for the sake of equity, fairness, and justice.
No one should be allowed to truncate the orderly and peaceful manner in which we in
Cross River State transit power from one Senatorial District to another. We should and
would not transit power based on ethnic considerations and violent dispositions but on peace, unity, and acceptable democratic culture.
On this note, we call on Security Agencies in the State to investigate cases of violent threats and plots by the PDP and their Army of brigands/thugs to unleash violence during the elections especially in the APC stronghold across the state ostensibly to disrupt the process and stop the victory of our party.
Security Agencies are also urged to bring perpetrators of such evil plots to book no matter how highly placed.
We thank you and congratulate you ahead of our victory in the coming elections.
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