By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
The Cross River State chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has warned the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, to stay away from Cross River State on Saturday, when the bye-election for Ogoja/Yala federal constitiency and Akpabuyo state constituency.
Cross River APC chairman, Barr. Alphonsus Eba Ogar, handed down the warning yesterday, warning Wike not to make any attempt at stepping his feet on the soil of Cross River State, on the guise of coming to witness Ogoja/Yala federal constituency and Akpabuyo state constituency bye-elections.
Accusing the River State governor of hatching a plan to use River State funds to sponsor Ogoja/Yala federal constituency and Akpabuyo state constituency bye-elections scheduled for February 26, Ogah stressed that Cross River State is jot an appendage of Rivers State.
Ogar was reacting to allegations in some quarters that the Cross River State government attempted to halt the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, rally that took place during the weekends ahead of the bye-elections.
Ogar wondered why the Rivers State governor should be meddling in the affairs of the people of Cross River State, and charged Wike to steer clear from pokenosing into the affairs of Cross River State government, and rather concentrate on managing the affairs of Rivers State people than meddling in affairs of Cross River State.
He said, “Wike is using Rivers State money to corrupt institutions of government, from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to security agents in an election of only 15 month!
“Mr. President sir, it is time for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to swing into action, because these people are destroying our politics, and this must not be allowed to happen.”
The Cross River APC chair insisted that Governor Wike is constituting himself into a security risk to Cross River, should his fingerprints be seen in Cross River State, let alone himself being allowed to enter the state on the day of bye-elections.
Accusing Wike of crossing the line of political decency, Ogar advised him to stop squandering the hard earned money of the people of Rivers State trying to cause confusion in an election that winners would spend only be in office for less than a year and a half.
The party boss averred that Cross River State people will no longer condone this, as the state is neither an annex nor an extension of Rivers State.
He added, “Nyesom Wike has been a constant medlesome interloper and today we want to say that enough is enough.
“He was here on Saturday to incite violence in Cross River State, but it took the maturity of our leader and governor, Professor Ben Ayade, to a avert violence.
“What he has set to do over time is to import the political cannibalism from Rivers State politics into Cross River State.
“Cross Riverians will no longer continue to allow him to cross the boundary of the line of political decency.”
Stressing that the state will no longer give space for such crossing any longer, Ogar added, “The Ayade administration has liberated over one million youths and the youths want to tell him that he will have no space to cross any longer.
“We are a peace-loving people and very decent and civilised and led by two very prominent professors.
“We will not get so low to the level of a governor who is almost like a motor park tout.
“We want the world to know that the governor with his level of exposure, education, and political capital in him cannot reduce himself to the level of a man with the poverty of intellectual capacity.”
