Chieftan of All Progressives Congress APC, High Chief Higgins Peters has condemned the purported endorsement of People’s Democratic Party, PDP Governorship Candidate Senator Prof Sandy Ojang Onor, by Labour Party Presidential Candidate Mr. Peter Obi, as right candidate to be voted for by residents of the state in Saturday Governorship and House of Assembly elections as having no effect.
Peters made the remarks while answering questions in a viral video which is at moment trending on various social media, online and whatsapp platforms in Calabar.
He said that the purported endorsement of the candidate of the PDP is of no consequence, urging electorates in the state to take the endorsement for granted.
“It’s a straight forward and simple that in Cross River State, we choose who to govern our state on the zoning formula. This was the reason Wike launched that fight in the PDP. That the PDP was supposed to zone the presidential ticket to south.
“It’s same reason why Peter Obi himself dumped the PDP to contest presidential election under the Labour Party platform and agitated that the presidential ticket should have gone to the south because of the zoning principle” the Chieftan of the APC maintained.
The business tycoon-cum-politician stated that he is shocked to hear that Obi who hated injustice and the way and manner southerners had been denied opportunity to lead the country, would endorse candidate of PDP for the Saturday’s poll in Cross River state even when he knew that same candidate vehemently refused to honour power rotation formular.
“Obi is a thorough breed and seasoned administrator to the core. I’m not sure if he knows the dynamics and sentiments of Cross River politics.
“Whatever he said, must have been said on the strength of ignorance and innocence. Innocent on the fact that he meant no harm, if he said so at all”, Higgins maintained.
He accused the Opposition Peoples Democratic Party PDP of lacking the mindset of winning the Gov’ship election, given their choice of Gov’ship candidate who was picked from the central nothwitstnding the fact that it was turn of the south to produce next governor of the state.
“If the PDP were to be ready,they would have brought in a candidate from the south. That is when we would have known that the PDP were ready to win the Governorship election.
“Bringing Senator Sandy Onor from the central to run Governorship election, he is technically disqualified even in people’s minds and morale. Whoever that votes for candidate of the PDP knows that he is voting for injustice.
“I do not think that people with conscience would want to vote candidate of the PDP. It’s turn of the south. This accounts for the reason why you see influx of people and thier parties coming to say it’s back to south, even among PDP members.
On the endorsement candidate of the Labour Party by the APC, peters stated that the collaboration would add no value to the party because in the first instance there is nothing like labour Party in the state stressing that what played out during the presidential election was as a result of Obi’s good will.
Higgins an MD/CEO of Opal Group Inc. stated, “People voted for Peter Obi because of the protest. They were protesting against the status quo. Not because of Labour Party. Obi happened to be a beneficiary of that protest.
“In every revolution using France as a case study, it must come from the inside, to begin the revolution. Peter Obi came from the inside to start up the revolution.
“The movement you saw is a one off thing. Probably because the APC presented a ticket that wasn’t attractive to christians. PDP on thier part also presented a ticket which was also not attractive to southerners.
“After 8 years of President Mohammadu Buhari being in power, thier thinking is that power ought to had rotated to south. Unfortunately the PDP presented Atiku, while on APC part, they presented Bola Tinubu.
“All this caused some level of distrust in the minds of the christians faith, including the artist in the south, came together to say no, power ought to have been shifted to south with Moslem/Christian ticket”.The APC Chieftan stated.
Higgins stated that it was on that premise that the aggrieved individuals liverage on Obi’s platform to express thier grievances and frustrations. “That was why you saw people voted for Obi. It was not about Labour Party”. Higgins stated.
