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| L-R: Efio-Ita Nyok, Atiku Abubakar, Gershom Bassey and Essien Ayi |
Our Correspondent|23 February 2019
The publisher of NEGROIDHAVEN, a politics/news blog with emphasis on Cross River State has disclosed reasons why he will be voting for Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP for president and vice president respectively; Prince Bassey Edet Otu the senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC for Cross River South, and Rt. Hon. Essien Ekpenyong Ayi the House of Representatives candidate of the PDP for the Akpabuyo/Bakassi/Calabar South Federal Constituency.
According to blogger Efio-Ita Nyok, President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo have failed Nigerians on all three counts of their 2015 elections promises. He said that, Nigeria is more corrupt, less secured and more poorer in the change-touting All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government than ever before.
His words, ‘I will vote come 23 February, that is, today, for PDP’s Alh. Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi for President and Vice president of Nigeria respectively; APC’s Prince Bassey Otu for Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and PDP’s Essien Ekpenyong Ayi for House of Representatives.
‘I won’t vote for Buhari and Osinbajo of the ruling party because on all three counts of their 2015 promises —restoring a comatose economy, dealing with corruption and fighting insecurity, they’ve both failed woefully and done so almost irreparably: economy wise, over 10 million Nigerians have lost their jobs according to NBS and the country is now the poverty headquarters of the world; Boko Haram still sacks the Nigerian Armed Forces like never before in the history of this country and no bloodletting Fulani Herdman terrorist has been apprehended and brought to justice; the fight against corruption is sectional and witch hunting; and we are more divided than united.
‘Transparency International in its recent report says Nigeria is more corrupt under Buhari than former president Goodluck Jonathan. SarahaReporters February 2018 confirms thus: ‘Nigeria’s latest placement indicates that the country has not made progress in its fight against graft, despite claims by the Muhammadu Buhari Presidency that it is making a headway. In the 2016 rankings, Nigeria scored 28. In 2015, it scored 26. The year before that, it scored 25. In 2014, the country scored 27 and 25 in 2013... According to TI, higher levels of corruption are common in countries where there is media and civil society repression.’ So, when I hear of ‘Next Level’ I get naturally apprehensive.
For the National Assembly, NASS the blogger Nyok added that he is inclined to APC’s Otu for Senate largely because of the community development propensities of his political ambition, while for the House of Representatives, he said that he wants Ayi to perfect his already initiated legislative solution to the displaced peoples of Bakassi in the southern senatorial district of Cross River.
According to him, ‘For Otu, I am inclined to his Community Development initiative as opposed to, in my judgement, the general elitist outing of Gershom Bassey of the PDP —I understand that Bassey is hard-to-reach, he’s not my ideal parliamentary —he barely calls nor take calls, has never convened a Constituency Meeting, to brief his constituents of his official activities as a representative lawmaker —the only time he visits his constituents is after every four years, in between, they look for him and in futility. Otu is relatively speaking, more accessible than Bassey. If you are not accessible, how do you represent our interest.
‘Ayi is earning my votes basically because of his Bakassi Development Commission Bill proposal already in the floor of the National Assembly, if he fails to get it in four years going forward, I will still condemn him. He’s the direct opposite of the elitist PDP lawmaker in Gershom Bassey, his down-to-earthedness is refreshing. I would emphasise that, I would naturally had voted for Bong Duke, if not for anything else, at least, it is time for a fresh, youthful and charismatic individual to assume the reins but, I have not actually understood the underlying ideology inspiring his House of Representatives ambition. Be that as it may, I still wish him well.
‘Generally, under Buhari/Osinbajo Nigeria has been more divisive than cohesive. Again, I want to join in establishing a pattern —if any politician particularly in the case of the presidency fails us, he should be rest assured that he will be voted out come what may.
‘It will be on the basis of this voting for each of the candidates that I will condemn or commend them should they eventually get elected’.
