By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
A socio-cultural organisation, operating in Cross River State under the aegis of Ejagam Nation has risen up in defense of Cross Silver State Governor Ben Ayade’s initiative of back-to-South agenda, which favours the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu.
Former acting National Vice Chairman, South-South, of the APC and a stakeholder of the Ejagam nation, Ntufam Hilliard Etta, averred that the socio-political/cultural organization is solidly behind candidate of the APC, whose popularity spreads across all political parties and across the three senatorial districts of the state.
Speaking after the endorsement of the APC candidate, Senator Otu, by the socio-cultural group, Etta stated that it’s only Otu who has the capacity to turnaround the fortunes of the state.
A communique read before members of the organisation and newsmen by Etta, after a meeting of delegates of Ejagham Nation at Gumez Hotel, Atekong Drive, Calabar Municipality Local Government Area of the state stated that they endorsed Senator Otu for the position of governor because it was time for power to rotate back to Cross River South zone.
Claiming that the state had been practicing power rotation since 1999, and as such the rotational formula had stabilized the polity in the state, the group stated, “Following the principle of rotation of the office of governor, and taking into consideration that the three senatorial zones have all produced governors, it is now the time for the South zone to produce the next governor.
“It is only just, fair and proper to give the South an unchallenging opportunity to produce the next governor of the state.
“We, the entire Ejagham people of the North, Central and Southern Cross River cannot sacrifice the political future of Southern Ejagham, which is tied to other ethnic groups in the south.
“The Ejagham Federation fully supports the principle of zoning and the rotation of positions at all levels, as well as the back-to-South movement.
“We support totally the legitimate back-to-South clamour by Governor Ayade, as well as the generality of Cross River residents and the candidacy of Senator Otu for governor of Cross River.”
Also speaking, a chieftan of the APC and former Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, asked members of Ejagam nation not to listen to claims in some quarters by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, where it was alleged that it’s the turn of Ejagam Nation to produce a state governor.
Ndoma-Egba stated that at no point in time did the people of Ejagam nation hold any meeting in the state to reach agreement that any of thirr son should contest election for the position of governor.
The former lawmaker maintained that allowing Otu to occupy the seat of government stands for equity, justice and fairness; stressing that at no point in time had anyone among citizens of Ejagam nation, which he is also a member, met and agreed that they should allow one of their sons to occupy the seat of government in 2023.
The former chairman of the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, stressed that no single tribe in Cross River State has the monopoly to decide where power should rotate to.
