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Senators John Owan Enoh and Victor Ndoma Egba, right, at the event
By Akpan David, Calabar
Elders and leaders of the northern and the central senatorial districts of Cross River State have said they are giving their backings to Senator Bassey Otu, the APC governorship candidate who hails from the southern senatorial district, because the South should rightly produce the next governor for sake of equity and fair play.
The elders met in Okpoma, Yala, in the northern zone, and Ikom in the central zone of the state yesterday where they resolved to mobilise their subjects to vote for the APC candidate, Bassey Otu.
In their communique at the end of the meeting in Yala, the northern leaders reaffirmed their earlier agreement as contained in what they referred to as The Calabar/Ogoja Accord of 1980.
The communique was signed by cross sections of elders across the two senatorial districts. They include Etubom Bassey Eyo Ndem, Ntufam John Achort Okon, His Excellency (Amb.) Dr. Nya Asuquo and others for the southern zone, as well as Ntufam Fidelis Ugbo, High Chief Higgins Peters, Elder P. J. Ekunke, Hon. Signor Omang Idiege and others for the northern zone.
Parts of the communique read: “The office of the Governor of Cross River State shall rotate sequentially between the three constituent senatorial districts of the South, Central, and North for equity, brotherliness, justice, and accommodation.”
At the meeting, the northern leaders also agreed that after Gov Ben Ayade’s tenure who himself hails from the Cross River north, “It will only be fair, just, and equitable that the office of Governor should return to the South in the 2023 general elections, and continue to move sequentially that way.”
In the Ikom meeting in the central zone, elders agreed with the submission of the northern leaders.
They agreed that the rotation decision of the governosrhip seat has helped in cutting off acrimony and bad blood often associated with such struggle.
Former Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba who spoke on behalf of the central zone said “it is not the turn of the central or the Ejagham ethnic group to produce a governor as some people are propagating.
“We have never played ethnic politics in Cross River. We rotate governorship position on the basis of senatorial districts and not on ethnic line.
“We have decided to support and elect Senator Bassey Otu from the southern Senatorial district since it is the turn of the zone to produce a governor.
“Other political parties whose candidates are not from the south are on their own.
“A greater percentage of us seated here are of the Ejagham stock but what we are saying is that anyone from the central using Ejagham sentiment to campaign has made a mistake because we had never met to take such ethnic-related decision. It is the turn of the south.
“The rotational policy which our fathers introduced, has stabilised the polity, brought us peace, unity and development. We will stick to it.”
Etubom Bassey Ndem who spoke for the South after the meeting explained that, “It began in the South with Mr Donald Duke in 1999. It then shifted to the central with Senator Liyel Imoke and now it is in the north with Gov Ben Ayade. Fairness and accommodation demand that it begins again from the south.
“We are here to solicit your support for our son, Senator Bassey Edet Otu, who is in the race under the APC platform. We will also support you after our turn. We believe that it is not right for anyone to truncate this lofty arrangement.”
However, the main opposition party People’s Democratic Party, PDP, as well as that of the Labour Party, LP, are from Etung and Ikom LGAs respectively in the Central.
