Recently, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate, Prof Sandy Onor, described administration of Cross River State led by Sen Bassey Otu, as “a government of mediocre “. This has attracted scathing criticisms from a cross section of the populace.
A former chieftain of PDP, Dr. Bobby Ekpenyong, took a swipe at that statement, saying that Prof Onor has since “disconnected from the reality and statement made out of malice and grief of the loss of 2023 governorship election.”
According to the lecturer at Department of Criminology and Security Studies, University of Calabar, “Onor’s group is a gathering of ill-fated politicians who assembled or whom he assembled to embark on yet another fatal enterprise for 2027 general elections.”
Ekpenyong, who doubles as a Fellow, National Association Of Criminologists and Security Practitioners of Nigeria and the State Coordinator, CRS Chapter of the Association of Criminology and Security Studies, said the statement he made
describing “the leadership of the state as mediocre is not just unfortunate but very callous, but coming from a politician who is not living in the present reality and suffering from political hallucinations”
Ekpenyong stated unequivocally that nothing will stop Gov. Otu second term , saying ” I can assure you that APC will win all the elections, governorship, Senate, house of reps and House of assembly. Take my word to the bank.”
*Excerpts* :
*Describing Governor Bassey Otu adminstration as run by Mediocre*
“Well it is unfortunate that PDP Presidential candidate, Prof Sandy Onor, can publicly describe Governor Bassey Otu’s government as being made up of mediocre. For me I thing that Prof Sandy Onor is completely disconnected from the reality and made the statement out of malice and grief of the loss of 2023 governorship election. Even the blind can see the transformation the government of Senator Prince Bassey Otu has brought to Cross River state in all facets of governance.
“Even the blind can feel it that Cross River State is safe; there is infrastructural evolution, rural transformations in the state, road beautifications, transparent employment process, indigenes of Cross River State are being employed into state and local government services and you are seeing a very humane government and a Governor that has opened his arms.
“We can see its immediate reaction towards flood issues. This government has performed above expectations. So how do you describe it as a government of mediocre? I think that is a statement from someone that is suffering from political hallucinations .This is the same person His Excellency, Senator prince Otu defeated, he lost woefully in the last Gubernatorial election even as a seating senator from Central Senatorial District. The people of Central Senatorial District overwhelmingly rejected him. Sandy Onor lost shamefully in all the Local Government Areas of the district including his own local government. A local government that he was once a Chairman. It shows that his own people didn’t see him fit to be the governor. One thing with my friend, Prof Sandy Onor, is that he believes that he is the most intelligent and the best person in Cross River State, every other person, since they are not professors of history like him, he is below average.
“This is someone that lost woefully in the last governorship elections and then still have the effontry to come out to contest for president. It’s a shame though we all know that he’s just a placeholder and he’s not running to win.
“It is also unfortunate that after he participated in the destruction of his own political party in the state, he is talking about the same party taking over government at the state level. Every known politician has left PDP. He has assembled a new set of people to embark on a woeful enterprise just as he mislead me and other people. Let me use this opportunity to advise those gullible Cross Riverians not to go with him on that journey that he is contesting for presidency in that fragmented party.
“We all remember when Prince Otu was in the Senate and House of Reps, can Sandy compare himself when he was in the Senate to a man that was chairman of petroleum upstream in the house of reps, chairman of finance and other committees at the Senate. Was Sandy a chairman of any committee ?He gave himself an unknown portfolio in the Senate as the Orator of the 8th assembly, is there a portfolio like that? So if he was that good, if he was so excellent, if he was above average why was he not made the spokesman of the Senate? And you have the audacity to describe the government of your own state, disrespectfully as a government led by mediocre.
*On Wike Faction of PDP*
*
I was there and I was deeply involved in what was going on, it is as a result of what was going on that I decided to leave. You cannot use me to fight my brother the second time. You want PDP remnants in the state to support President Tinubu for the Presidential election, and in the State and then fight against APC governor in Cross River State. Are you not stupid?
“How does it sound? It’s the most stupid and idiotic style of politics. It sounds highly hypocritical. You want to support APC government at the national level and fight against APC government in your state when politics is first of all local, now who are you doing it for.
“When you do that and APC wins presidential elections in Cross River State do you think you’ll take credit when you have APC government in Cross River State? This are things they are using to deceive people. He is a place holder and his supporters are telling everybody that President Tinubu will give him Minister. Does this governor look like a push over to you? He was thoroughly beaten in the last election, maybe he wants to receive more beatings in 2027.
*Calls on politicians to guard utterances*
“We should guard our utterances. This statement he made can inflame the public and the polity.
“I want to advise that politicians, guard their utterances and speak within context. If you want to criticize government, criticize government on what it has not been able to do. Criticise objectively and bring out evidence and show that government is not performing in this area or are not doing it this way or that way and not to make open statement that can inflame he public and cause political unrest.
*On strength of opposition ahead of 2027*
“I’m old enough in Cross River Politics to know political characters who bring out the trick in every election both presidential and governorship. In the last election, I can tell you that all the leaders in PDP as opposition in Cross River State could not win in their polling units. I was the only one. I can tell you authoritatively that we don’t have opposition in Cross River state. The who is who in politics in Cross River are in APC.
“It is normal that after primaries in political parties, there will be grievances and there are mechanisms in place to handle those grievances and reconcile everybody especially in the ruling party. I have suffered it and many too have suffered it.
“Those that dare to leave the ruling party they are people who naturally will always want to belong. You’ve seen the former state chairman of APC, he was there for about 5 years. He’s been enjoying and suddenly he was asked to wait and leave that office for another person.
He became disgruntled and jump to PDP because they don’t have any capable people. They suddenly made him deputy governorship candidate. Now how do you take other people who have been in the party ever since standing by and suffering for the party in northern senatorial district?
“Those guys are not contesting elections because they want to win, they don’t have what it takes to defeat APC and Prince Otu. I don’t see it, not this folks. They are not contesting elections to win but to fulfill all righteousness and have it in their CVs that I was once a governorship or senatorial candidate for this.
“They are some people that are very happy with such titles. So I am not perturbed, I’m not worried. I came into APC to add value and to join hands with other politicians to give Cross River State good governance so I’m not worried that Prince Otu or any other APC candidate in Cross River State may lose elections. I can assure you that APC will win all the elections, governorship, Senate, house of reps and House of assembly, APC will win in all the constituencies, take my word to the bank.”
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