C’River PDP: Those Promoting Zoning For 2023 Guber Are Cowards – Senator Onor

The trouble rocking the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Cross River State escalated on Monday when the senator representing the state’s Central Senatorial Districts, Mr Sandy Onor, called those promoting zoning the governorship ticket cowards.

Onor asserted that the faces behind such campaign are politicians without balls, who are afraid of a free and fair process to get the party’s primary ticket for the governorship election.

There have been agitations from different quarters especially within the PDP calling for strict observance to the system put in place since 1999.

Proponents of the unwritten arrangement called zoning say the system produced Mr Donald Duke from Cross River South in 1999 and Mr Liyel Imoke in 2007.

Imoke, whose tenure ended in 2015, is from the Cross River Central.

Imoke anointed Mr Ben Ayade from the North whose administration will end in 2023.

Those calling for zoning argue that it has to return to the South to prevent the South from waiting for 24 years before reclaiming power.

However, the antagonists argue it must not be rotated in previous order, that what matters is that after any zone, another zone will be allowed.

Those holding that position in the PDP have joined Onor, whose colleague from the senate is from the South, Mr Gershom Bassey, who has expressed interest to contest and has largely been anointed by Duke and some highly placed former leaders in the state.

Against this backdrop, Onor carpeted such a proposition on Monday while speaking with journalists, noting that the sequence that produced the various governors since 1999 was never zoning but just fair political game.

“Zoning has never, and I repeat, zoning has never been practiced in our state since the advent of the current democratic experience in 1999 and cannot afford to sacrifice competence on the altar of zoning, as we prepare to choose a candidate for the governorship or any other election,” he stated.

The state is currently facing serious competing interests following Ayade’s defection to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Not also attacked the zoning arrangement, saying, “Those who are promoting and spreading the message of zoning are either cowards who do not have what it takes to contest the party’s ticket under a free and fair process, or are ethnic jingoists who are only interested in misleading our people in pursuit of their very personal and selfish interests.”

He warned that, “Nobody or group of persons should divide our state and its people in the name of zoning. We are a people who share commonalities with deep historical roots and it would be thoroughly unfair for anybody to fan the embers of geo-ethnicity, just to satisfy thier selfish ambition.”

Speaking further he stated that in the course of the consultative visits, leaders of PDP were united in their resolution that the contest is open for anybody who thinks he has what it takes to contest, no matter what part of the state they come from.

He said the leaders were firm on this, as reflected in the communiqué they issued backing up their resolution, adding that he is a firm believer in local government system which he intends to revive when he becomes governor.

He said the local governments are treated with utmost disdain by the state governments.

He said, “The local government system will be resurrected and its full autonomy restored. Our people depend on this tier of government for survival. I have been a local government chairman and had also served as chairman of the local government service commission. Under my watch, the dry bone called local government system in our state will live again.

“I am not the only person who has support from outside , Duke had support from outside ,Same with Imoke and Ayade ,why is my case different . On my own I have done well for myself and a moving force to reckon with at any level.

“For my relationship with Wike, I’m proud to be associated with him,because he has been amongst the few persons who have carried PDP along.

“Those against my ambition feel aggrieved because they cannot twist and turn me like a porn. Those who are speaking about my relationship with Wike are intellectually lazy,” he said.