As the build up to the 2015 general election gatherers steam, one issue that has remained in the front burner in Cross River State is the possible emergence of Governor Liyel Imoke’s successor from the Northern Senatorial District of the state. In the history of the state, even when it was a component of the defunct South Eastern State, none from the District had occupied the governorship position of the state. Thus, with the approach of every general election where a new governor for the state would emerge, the agitation for one of their own mounting the saddle of leadership has always been the issue. Incidentally, Imoke has repeatedly stated that he would prefer his successor emerging from the area because in his view, the measure would be fair and just for the people of the area and the state. Addressing a town hall meeting in Ogoja, the headquarters of the Northern Senatorial District, sometime 2010, the governor said there would be sense of equity in the state if the politician who would succeed him is from the Northern Senatorial District. “I believe very strongly, and I say it publicly that after me the next governor of Cross River state must come from the Northern Senatorial District. It is fair. It is right. It is just. It has to be and for me as a politician, that will be the greatest thing that I would have been able to achieve. I want to see that happen where we will now produce a governor from the Northern Senatorial District, a governor for the people of Cross River state, with or without Ogoja state. “When we do that there will be much sense of belonging and equity and that sense of being cheated will be reduced significantly. That to my mind is my own vision and I pray that we work together to make it happen”, Imoke said at the Ogoja Local Government Council secretariat, venue of the meeting. Also speaking on the matter during a media parley sometime last September, Imoke said; “Cross River already has three Senatorial Districts. Two senatorial districts have produced by the grace of God, governors. One has not. Would it be fair for us not to allow the other senatorial district a governor? Will it be fair? “This is a just a question of simple fairness. Just like we had president from the North, then, South West, now from South South, there is no big deal. It is a natural sequence. That is why I support it openly. Some people have been asking ‘oga keep quiet over this matter. This is not how to do’. I say I don’t know how to deal with what is honest, sincere, correct and right.” The state chairman of the party, Ntufam John Okon re-emphasised the position of the governor while speaking on the issue recently. According to Okon, the Southern Senatorial District had Donald Duke as governor from May 1999 to May 2007 and at the moment; Imoke from the Central Senatorial District is in charge of affairs in the state. So, in his view, Imoke was right in stating his support for the emergence of his successor from the Northern Zone of the state. However, despite the open endorsement given by Imoke to the North, not a single politician of repute has stepped forward to declare that he or she is ready to lead the state when Imoke would vacate. Though politicians such as Senator Ben Ayade, Ntufam Fidelis Ugbo; Former Minister of Environment, John Odey ; former National Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party(PDP), Venatius Ikem are believed to be nursing the ambition to succeed Imoke they have largely remained silent over the matter. However, one Godwin Apple Agim, from the Northern Zone, who currently operates from outside the country, is the only person that has openly signified interest for the job. Not many people in the state are aware of his intention to run for governor, except those who have seen his declaration on the social media, hence he is not taken too seriously. But Agim in stating his reason for enlisting in the race said, “There are two prevailing political permutations in Cross River State regarding who becomes the next governor, after the expiration of the incumbent’s term in 2015. “The first scenario is that of the Donald Duke-Liyel Imoke-Gershom Bassey political musketry which is billed, by its adherents, one way or the other, to run its full length with the latter being called upon to mount the saddle. “The second scenario is anchored on the principle of Zonal rotation of the state’s governorship with Cross River North being the unquestionable zone to produce the incumbent’s successor in 2015 after successive stints by the South and the (ongoing) Central, especially considering that, since the state’s creation, the North has never produced the governor, except on an administrative basis. “Any honest observer will sincerely admit that the former, not minding who is behind it, is an anti-democratic formula which will only go a long way to entrench the culture of godfatherism in Cross River – a tendency, with its many accompanying negatives, that a state like Edo recently wholly rejected! This leaves the second scenario as not only tenable but also morally proper. “I am very aware that many household names from Cross River North are being touted as likely and, in a few cases, significantly qualified to become the next governor. However, being a former political office holder, particularly under the status-quo, as many of such persons are, is not necessarily an asset at a time like this when our state needs a new and holistic leadership reorientation – along lines of pragmatism and consummate diligence. It is my earnest thinking, and I am sure many objective persons will agree with me, that Cross River needs a thorough-bred entrepreneur who will lead the state with the gumption and industriousness that it truly deserves. Not only do I humbly and readily fit that description, but it has come through the added advantage of having a business experience in Finland, one of the foremost European states and one with a striking similitude to our state’s greatest aspirations”. Despite his arguments for enlisting in the race, those considered as possible front runners in the 2015 governorship contest appear to be silent perhaps because it takes more than declaration to garner the necessary support from the powers that be in the state to become governor. So, many people are of the belief that most of those who in the ordinary are considered as front runners are simply waiting for Imoke to anoint either of them as his successor in 2015. But there is also this argument in some quarters that the reason for the silence is anchored on the fear that Imoke may not keep to his pledge of handing over to a politician from the North. Those who reason in this direction insinuate that the governor may be interested in handing over to Bassey, his bosom friend and one of the “three wise men”. Bassey is from the Southern Senatorial District. Arguing on where Imoke’s successor would hail from, a lawyer and political analyst, Utum Eteng stated: “As the build up to 2015 hot up, the issue on whether Gershom Bassey, from the South will take over from his team mate, Liyel Imoke, is only a matter of time; and whether the people of the Northern Senatorial District would trade off their legitimate opportunity is yet another. “Prior to Imoke’s re-election campaign, he had, at a Town hall meeting, at Ogoja in the Northern Senatorial District, attempted a brave joke wherein he publicly promised to hand over power to the zone in the interest of equity and fair play. Whether that promise or move was and honest gentleman’s promise or a political gimmick has also become a subject of uncertainty, anxiety and controversy. Many pundits argue that, Imoke’s pronouncement is completely at variance with his body language for obvious reasons. One, he is yet to go beyond rhetoric to encourage the people of the district in his party to look inward for a capable and experienced hand to be on standby. It may however not be totally wrong in view of the fact that he started this leg of his term after the February 25, 2012 elections and first needed time to concentrate. The question is, is it Imoke’s responsibility to tell the people of the zone who should take their turn? Certainly no, it is the people’s responsibility that should not be transferred to Imoke who may have limitations now. “Secondly, that he has continued to patronize, elevate and empower his team mate smacks of double standard and hypocrisy. He may be right, following the concept of one good turn deserving reciprocation. After all, his team mate was always there for him before now. “It is argued that, Imoke’s game plan is to create divisions from the North to put spanners at work when the time comes for the people not to act as one. Those who hold this view insist that such was his strategy when he led the campaign to install his soul mate (Duke) governor in 1999 and 2003. These are all in the realm of speculations. It is only time that will give answers to those theories.” As Eteng observed, in the months ahead, the reality as to whether the Northern Senatorial District would produce the next governor would become clearer based on Imoke’s actions and body language. So, for now everybody, perhaps, except Agim is waiting on the governor to give concrete direction as to where his successor would emerge from.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 01:36:26 +0000
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