Don’t come for campaign in Cross River if you don’t address our grievances – APC Support Group warns Tinubu
By Akpan David, Calabar
The National Patriotic Front for Tinubu, NPFFT, has issued a caution to the APC Presidential Campaign Council to suspend its rally in Calabar slated for Monday, November 2, except President Bola Tinubu addresses the many concerns about the state.
They have therefore temporarily withdrawn its political support for President Tinubu in Cross River State.
They have demanded that he officially visit the state before his presidential rally will hold.
The group said its decision was informed by unresolved grievances over Cross River’s oil-producing status, federal appointments, promotion of indigenes in federal institutions and political representation.
In a statement signed by its Director-General, Castro Ezama, and other officials, NPFFT said it would suspend political mobilisation for Tinubu in the state until meaningful steps were taken to address its demands.
It said the President should engage political stakeholders, traditional rulers, youths, women and business leaders, insisting that the state should not be left out of his national political engagements.
The group also urged the organisers to reschedule the proposed November 2 rally to allow adequate mobilisation, consultation and participation by stakeholders across the state.
Other demands include the restoration of Cross River’s oil-producing status, subject to relevant constitutional, statutory and boundary processes, and the appointment of a qualified indigene as substantive Chief Medical Director of the Federal Psychiatric Hospital, Calabar.
NPFFT further called for a transparent review of outstanding promotion issues affecting qualified Cross River indigenes in the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC.
It also demanded that the ruling party’s National Women Leader position be returned to Cross River State, arguing that the state deserved fair representation in the distribution of key political offices.
The group, however, said its decision was not a permanent withdrawal of support for Tinubu, adding that it remained open to dialogue with the Presidency and the ruling party.
It urged its members and supporters to remain peaceful and law-abiding while awaiting a response from the relevant authorities.
