APC National Chairmanship Elections : Why my support goes to Chief Clement David Ebri —Joseph Odok

3 April 2018 

Chief Clement David Ebri (born 1952) is a Nigerian politician who was elected on the NRC platform as Governor of Cross River State, Nigeria between January 1992 and November 17, 1993 during the Nigerian Third Republic, leaving office after the military coup that brought General Sani Abacha to power. 

Ebri was born on 11 December 1952 in Mkpani, Yakurr Local Government Area, Cross River State. He studied at Sacred Heart College, Aba, the Community Secondary School, Ugep, and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Before entering politics, Ebri was editor of the Nigerian Chronicle and Director of the Mercantile Bank of Nigeria, and the Savannah Bank of Nigeria. He was the Chief Executive of Brecon Associates, Inter-urban Contracting Services and Dimaron Nigeria Limited. The experience he gained therein made him pro-people as a good harmonisation of the interest is a sure tool for building bridges amongst people as a good negotiator. 

Ebri was elected into the 1989 Constituent Assembly, and in 1991 was elected as the Cross River state governor on the National Republican Convention platform, being forced out of office when General Sani Abacha took power as Head of State. He contested in the 1998 All People's Party (APP) primaries to become their candidate for Cross River state governor in the 1999 elections after the return to democracy, but came second. He was chairman of the Presidential Review Committee to examine the 1999 constitution, which made its report in 2001. One the committee's recommendations, which was not accepted, was to limit presidential and governorship terms to one single 5-year period.

In 2006, Ebri left the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) to become a founding member of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), becoming national chairman. In May 2006 Ebri urged the Federal Government to reform the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure free and fair elections in 2007. After the 2007 elections, he led the party into the Government of National Unity (GNU) under President Umaru Yar'Adua, while reserving the right to withdraw if problems arose. He said the PPA had not compromised in joining the GNU, but said "we felt we should as well help to stabilize the polity, and add value to governance."

In February 2009 he praised the decision of the Appeal Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State which had annulled the decision of the Abia State Elections Tribunal to replace Theodore Orji of the PPA as governor by Onyema Ugochukwu of the PDP. In April 2009 he asked the INEC to announce the result of the Ekiti State supplementary election immediately, and also called on police to release election monitors who were detained while performing their job during the election. In August 2009, two weeks after Imo State Governor Ikedi Ohakim had defected from the PPA to the PDP, Ebri resigned from the PPA chairmanship and left the party, saying he was stepping aside from politics.

Chief Clement Ebri has remained one ex governor that is consistently committed to entrenching the principles of internal democracy. His idea of politics limits him to the singular conviction that power belongs to the people and democracy should be an inclusion of the people and not any form of imposition by reason of any political office 

Chief Clement Ebri is a man that knows sacrifices, he is a  progressive with clear minds that politics is not a venture for primitive wealth acquisition but good politics must be characterised by an unreserved commitment  to serve in a constant act of self-sacrifice. He is a Child of the ideologies that guided the first generation politics characterised by the crave to transform Nigeria through sacrifice as opposed to the new drive for primitive wealth acquisition. Ebri is a man that believes that  adherence to the party's constitution is the only way of it's preservation and longevity. Being a man of honour, he sees no reason to be in any political party that does not place the people above greed and criminal methods of acquiring power. 

Chief Clement Ebri, joined APC shortly after  the election of President Buhari. The story of Chief Clement Ebri has been that of being in opposition, he refused several calls by his colleagues in the college of ex governors to join PDP when he saw the deviation of PDP from it's rich constitution. Chief Ebri only joined the winning APC because of the integrity of President Buhari and the change his government promised. Committed to the change mantra, Ebri have always lend his voice to curb anti democratic styles of some APC Cross River State power drunks. Chief Clement David Ebri is a man of principles with a firm but humble ways of insisting that every democracy solely thrives on the principles of internal democracy.

The news of Ebri as a possible candidate for the APC National Chairman has brought ecstasy to many in Cross River State. This is because Ebri is perceived as the messiah with the needed charisma to change the story of imposition and liberate Cross River State from hawks in power. 

Feelers have it that some APC power brokers seems to have tipped Ebri to replace Oyegun. These feelers seem to suggest that the APC have been zoned the position of it's National Chairman to South South region and the position may be limited to a contest between  His Excellency Chief Clement Ebri and His Excellency Comrade Adams Oshiomole. Preference for Chief Clement Ebri seems to be mounting because Comrade Adams Oshiomole is perceived to be too rigid and unbending. Many argue that Oshiomole's style may not be the best for APC especially in a time the party needs to reconcile itself with most of its aggrieved members and prepare for the Presidential election. Ebri on the other hand have been perceived as a good negotiator with a calm disposition that best fits the APC of today. The story of Chief Ebri is one of a humble ex governor with a servant/leader disposition, his name soars high because of his background as one of the least controversial ex governor in the history of Nigerian politics. It is believed that Chief Ebri has  wide a wide friendship across the party and his involvement in politics have created the least number of enemies. One with a higher network of friends and the least number of enemies is in my consideration the best man for the job of APC National Chairman. 

Joseph Odok 

Social Change Agent