CR 2023: Choice of running mate for APC governorship flagbearer divides party

The nomination by Governor Ben Ayade, leader of APC in Cross River State of the majority leader in the Cross River State House of Assembly, Hon. Peter Odey as the preferred choice for the party’s Deputy Governorship position to Prince Bassey Otu has raised eyebrow among critical stakeholders who view the action as alienating them.

The major stakeholders of the party in the state which includes a former governorship candidate in the 2019 elections, Senator John Owan Enoh have disagreed, calling for interpretation of the country’s constitution in Section 187 through a letter dated 26, July 2022 to the state governor arguing that the constitutional provision in the case of the APC in Cross River State has not been followed whereas the Governorship candidate, Senator Bassey Otu would have been given the constitutional right to nominate his running mate.

They opined that the non-involvement of the critical stakeholders of the party in the process of nomination of the deputy governorship candidate is unacceptable to majority of them hence, their reaching out to the governor for a review of the nomination of Hon. Peter Odey whose emergence they say was allegedly done without proper consultation with critical stakeholders of the party.

In a chat with a LENS reporter Thursday, Obol Sulaiman Offiong a former governorship aspirant suggested that the process should be subjected to wider consultations for the purpose of arriving at a consensus deputy governorship candidate with electoral value, competence, general acceptability and administrative acumen like the persons of Ntufam Fidelis Ugbo and Chief Chris Agara from Central and Northern Senatorial Districts who are competent to complement our governorship candidate in the match to the peregrine House in 2023.

By: Archibong Emmanuel
(Snr. Reporter)