By Nsan Ndoma-Neji
The Chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC), High Chief Higgins Peters has condemned the purported endorsement of Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Governorship Candidate, Senator Sandy Ojang Onor by the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Candidate, Mr Peter Obi as the right candidate to be voted for by residents of the state in the Saturday Governorship and House of Assembly elections as having no effect.
Peters made the remarks while answering questions in a viral video which is at the moment trending on various social media, online and WhatsApp platforms in Calabar.
He said that the purported endorsement of the Candidate of the PDP is of no effect, urging the electorates in the state to take the endorsement for granted.
“It’s straightforward and simple that in Cross River State, we choose who to govern our state on the zoning formula. This was the reason Wike launched that fight in the PDP – that the PDP was supposed to zone the presidential ticket to the South.
“It’s the same reason why Peter Obi himself dumped the PDP to contest the presidential election under the Labour Party (LP) platform and agitated that the presidential ticket should have gone to the South because of the zoning principle”, the Chieftan of the APC maintained.
The Business tycoon cum politician stated that he is shocked to hear that Obi who hated injustice and the way and manner that Southerners have been denied the opportunity to lead the country, would endorse the candidate of the PDP for Saturday’s poll in Cross River State – even when he knew that the same candidate vehemently refused to honour power rotation formula.
“Obi is a thorough breed and seasoned administrator to the core. I’m not sure if he knows the dynamics and sentiments of Cross River politics.
“Whatever he said, must have been said on the strength of ignorance and innocence. Innocent on the fact that he meant no harm if he said so at all”, Higgins stated.
He accused the opposition Peoples Democratic Party of lacking the mindset of winning the Governorship election, given their choice of a candidate who was picked from the Central, even though it was the turn of the South to produce the next governor of the state.
“If the PDP were to be ready, they would have brought in a candidate from the South. That is when we would have known that the PDP were ready to win the Governorship election.
“Bringing Senator Sandy Onor from the Central to run the Governorship election, he is technically disqualified even in the people’s minds and morale. Whoever votes for the candidate of the PDP knows that he is voting for injustice.
”I do not think that people with a conscience would want to vote for the candidate of the PDP. It’s the turn of the South. This accounts for the reason why you see an influx of people and their parties coming to say ‘it’s back to South’, even among PDP members.”
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On the endorsement of the candidate of the Labour Party by the APC, Peters stated that the collaboration would add no value to the party because, in the first instance, there is nothing like Labour Party in the state, stressing that what played out during the presidential election was as a result of Obi’s goodwill.
Higgins an MD/CEO of Opal Group Inc. stated, “People voted for Peter Obi because of the protest. They were protesting against the status quo. Not because of Labour Party. Obi happened to be a beneficiary of that protest.
“In every revolution, using France as a case study, it must come from the inside to begin the revolution. Peter Obi came from the inside to start up the revolution.
“The movement you saw is a worn-off thing. Probably because the APC presented a ticket that wasn’t attractive to Christians. PDP on their part also presented a ticket which was also not attractive to Southerners.
“After 8 years of President Muhammadu Buhari being in power, their thinking is that power ought to have rotated to the South. Unfortunately, the PDP presented Atiku, while on APC part, they presented Bola Tinubu.
“All this caused some level of distrust in the minds of the Christian faith, including the artist in the South, came together to say no, the power ought to have been shifted to South with Muslim/Christian ticket”, the APC Chieftain stated.
Higgins stated that it was on that premise that the aggrieved individuals leverage Obi’s platform to express their grievances and frustrations. “That was why you saw people vote for Obi. It was not about Labour Party”, Higgins stated.
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