C’River: APC Flags Off Official Campaigns With Pomp And Pageantry

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By: VITALIS UGOH, Calabar

The ruling All Progressives’ Congress (APC) has officially flagged off its much anticipated campaigns for the various public offices it is fielding candidates in for the 2023 general elections. 

As the nation gears up to start the onerous process of electing the next set of leaders in Nigeria, the ruling All Progressives’ Congress (APC), in Cross River State, has made unapologetic and audacious statement with pomp and pageantry that Cross River State is APC in all ramifications.

Speaking at the grand event, the Governor of Cross River State,  Sen.(Prof) Ben Ayade, told the teeming crowd of supporters who came from all the nooks and crannies of Cross River State 

 that it is time to deviate from the obviously misguided method of the opposition that had continued to deceive the people of the state for their selfish interests.

The State Chief Executive who was visibly delighted with the multitude that thronged the venue of the campaigns told the excited crowd that he is gunning to return back to the Senate as a ranking Senator to enable him to do more for the people of not only the northern senatorial district but also to Cross River State in general.

Ayade noted that since 2015 when he came on board the ship of the state, he has endeavoured to inculcate in the people a culture of political tolerance, a sense of justice and fair play as well as laying a firm foundation for the industrial revolution that would kick start the real Cross River State development philosophy.

He therefore advised the teeming crowd of supporters not to be deceived by the opposition that has nothing to offer.

In his usual great benevolence, Governor Ben Ayade donated a whooping N3,000,000 (Three Million Naira) to those who decamped into the APC fold and equally promised them immediate appointments into his cabinet.

Also speaking at the flag off of the APC political campaigns was the gubernatorial candidate of the APC in Cross River State, Senator (Prince) Bassey Edet Otu. His arrival at the grand event was a veritable moment of great political symbolisms with the crowd according him the grand welcome a true political icon deserves.

The gubernatorial candidate took time to present his well articulated and ably thought out governorship manifesto to the teeming crowd of supporters who had stood by him since his emergence as the APC gubernatorial candidate. 

He assured that nobody or group of persons will be left out in an established administration headed by him and asked the people to give him their mandate.

Prince Otu went down memory lane to enumerate his sterling achievements in both Chambers of the National Assembly, the House of Representatives and the Senate where he headed many pivotal committees including the House Committee on Oil where he ably sponsored a bill for the local content component of the Nigerian oil industry that is being copied across the African Countries today.

The governorship candidate of the APC jeered at the motley crowd of small supporters of the opposition that has nothing to offer the people other than deliberate lies and shameless propaganda. He noted that it was his capacity, knowledge and experience that enabled him to perform creditably in the National Assembly and that the state under his watch shall not fail.

Otu said that under the supervision and watch of the opposition PDP,  Cross River State painfully lost its great assets as an oil producing state when Bakassi was unjustly ceded to Cameroon, 76 oil wells were equally seized and economic trees as well as political positions were lost. He vowed that Cross River State would never lose any inch of its land again as he can open doors and wield influence and fight for what is rightly due to Cross River State. 

Similarly, the Director General of the Prince Bassey Edet Otu’s Campaign Council, Ambassador Soni Abang, told the teeming crowd that the transition of power from Senator Prof Ben Ayade to Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu had already begun and therefore advised the electorates not to waste their votes for the opposition that has nothing to offer the people of the state. 

In the same vein, the State Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Barr. Alphonsus Ogar Eba, said that the final burial of PDP in Cross River State as seen in the great number of decampees into the APC is overwhelming, adding that the collective will of the people must prevail in the next elections. He said that it is time to reclaim the stolen mandate from the opposition that has now been buried in the rubble of Cross River State political history.

In a delighted voice that enthused victory and trust, Barr. Alphonsus Ogar Eba and indeed, all key figures of the APC joyfully received thousands of decampees back into the APC political family, a move that is seen by many as the overall victory for the APC at all levels of the elections.

There was also the politically symbolic recognition accorded all candidates of the APC for the House of Assembly election as well as the handing over of the APC flags to all of them.

The official flag off of  APC political campaigns in Ogoja had all the ingredients of impactful political linings and the coming days and weeks will throw up more excitement as the state and nation become more and more politically charged in anticipation of the coming general elections. 

The highly successful commencement of the APC political campaign was attended by the who is who in the Cross River State political discourse. These personalities includes the wife of the State Governor , Dr. Mrs. Linda Ayade, the State Deputy Governor, Prof Ivara Esu, the APC Deputy Governorship Candidate, Rt. Hon. Peter Odey, Rt. Hon.  Legor Idagbo, Rt. Hon.  Mike Etaba, Hon. Jude Ngaji, Hon. Alex Egbona, Barr. Tina Banku Agbor, High Chief Edem Duke, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, High Chief Higgins Peters, Asuquo Ekpenyong Jnr,  Engr. Nsa Ekpenyong, and many other chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

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