Less than 24 hours after President Bola Tinubu nominated former Cross River State Information Commissioner, Asu Okang, to represent CRS on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state, has kicked against the nomination, describing it as “…shocking, annoying, appalling, revolting, abnormal, and politically suicidal” for the APC in Cross River State.
Emmanuel Edem Inyang, Assistant Publicity Secretaey, APC, Cross River State, in a signed press statement currently in circulation, says “…to see the name of Mr Asu Oku Okang, a diehard PDP member, a known persecutor of our party, an enemy of APC, unrepentant political opponent of our party who in the last 2023 general elections destroyed our members properties, fought them, injured and almost killed our members in Etung Local Government Area of CRS, to now surreptitiously find his name in the list of a Grade A (NDDC) board which is meant to reward loyal members of our party who sacrificed their resources, energy and time to ensure the victory of our party and all our candidates including our amiable President will not only kill the enthusiasm of our members but it will torpedo our party.”
“The APC, Cross River State chapter in the strongest of terms rejects, disowns, and disassociate (sic) itself from the said list. If this is an innocent mistake on the part of those saddled with the responsibility of constituting federal boards and agencies, we humbly call on them to please correct this grievous error by removing, deleting and erasing the name of Mr Asu Oku Okang as Representative of Cross River State on the board of NDDC”, the statement further said.
The statement however sounded comical when it drew the president’s attention to what it referred to as the “…strange, obnoxious, pestilential and diabolical development in Cross River State being perpetuated by some persons who are out to create disaffection amongst party leadership and unnecessary political crisis in the only APC State in the south south region.”
In a swift reaction, Francis Bullem, a PDP stalwart in the state maintains that, “Tinubu is trying to form a government of inclusivity in the South South of Nigeria and in most areas that APC is weak in. The NDDC board appointees from Cross River, Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta States are all PDP members. But then too, the APC in CRS is already fractionalized along bi-pipolar lines, unbridled greed and exaggerated ambitions for future office holders. Expect more appointments across Board, meanwhile congratulations to Comrade Asu Okang so far.”
However, one eminent Abuja based Cross Riverian, who doesn’t want his name in print, is insisting that “this petition and uproar can affect him. His nomination can be withdrawn because neither has the Senate confirmed him nor the Board inaugurated.”
