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2007 Election Tears C/River PDP Apart
From Amby Uneze in Calabar, 12.04.2004
Three years ahead of the 2007 general elections in the country, members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Cross River State have started playing “dirty” politics to position their interested persons for governorship slot. Many party members believed that since the state Governor, Donald Duke, would be instrumental to deciding who would succeed him, they are now building tent around him thereby feeding him with stories about any perceived opponent. THISDAY reliably gathered that the “eye service” work is very common among the members of the state Executive Council (EXCO), who are anxious to remain in the good books of the governor. According to insider sources, picking Duke's successor may be somehow difficult because of the perceived number of those interested in the job, hence there seems to be suspicion in the state among politicians as one is not sure of the camp of another person. But going by the zoning system which the party adopts in sharing positions, it may be very simple. This is so because among the three senatorial zones of the state, it is only the Northern Senatorial zone that has not produced a governor of the state. Since the creation of Akwa Ibom State from the former Cross River State in 1987, Chief Clement Ebri from the Central Senatorial zone was governor of the state for 22 months, while the Southern Senatorial zone produced the present governor who is currently serving his second term of four years each. So if political equation has to be observed in the distribution of the governorship position, then the north may not have problems in picking the slot in 2007 in order to give them a sense of belonging. To buttress the division which seemed to have caved in among the party leaders, several meetings of caucuses have been organised in the recent past and most of them were done in secret places without the knowledge of all the stakeholders. Last weekend, a meeting of the party tagged "PDP Family Get-Together" was organised in Ikom in the central senatorial zone of the state. The meeting, which was chaired by the governor himself, had his other loyalists in attendance but not all the stakeholders were invited. Speaking at the get-together, the governor pledged that he would stake everything within his reach for the service and development of the state while thanking God for giving him the opportunity to serve the people.
Duke stated that by 2007 when another set of executive comes on board, the state will have been miles apart from other states, as its economy must have been tremendously improved. The governor described PDP as a large family that has history which evolved in 1998 to move the state forward, adding that the greatest challenge facing the state was how to manage the success it created in the 2003 elections because the greatest responsibility is to manage it with the fear of God. He added that the party has done relatively well in the state but could do better and be able to manage its problem before they get out of hand, saying that people quarrel but they should learn to internalise their problems. In their messages of solidarity, Senator Bassey Ewa Henshaw representing Cross River South and Hon. John Owan Eno representing Etung/Obubra Federal Constituency thanked the organisers of the get-together, stating that the family would go places, produce the next governor and touch many more lives. The state chairman of the party, Chief Soni Abang said the family get-together was an interesting innovation for all to stay together because the basic thing facing the party is the challenge of staying together as a family to attain greater standards. He said the purpose of the get-together signified unity and togetherness while apologising for any shortcomings.
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