CRS: SDP gubernatorial hopeful in Cross River State, Eyo Ekpo says Donald’s Duke victory at the SDP primaries is a testament to the wonderful work he did while he served Nigerians as Governor of Cross River State. Cross Riverians, and indeed Nigerians, he added, see Donald as the only Presidential candidate for the 2019 elections whose blueprint for governance is already out in the open for engagement- as a trustworthy alternative to the misrule that the APC and PDP represent.
Ekpo who spoke shortly after the primaries, maintains that, Donald, when he held sway in our state, raised it from the backwaters of economic negligence to become the envy of observers, both within and outside the country.
“Anyone who had been to Nigeria but did not visit Cross River was said to have missed out on a very uplifting experience, as he developed Cross River into a true people’s paradise” he pointed out.
His efforts, he added, to emancipate the state from dependence on the central government oil economy was evident in his pro-tourism agenda: introduction of the Calabar Carnival; the restoration of the Obudu Mountain Resort; introduction of Obudu Mountain Race; and the facelift given to all the major tourist sites, including the creation of access roads to these facilities. His efforts are indelible in the hearts of Cross Riverians, and indeed, the nation.
Donald it was, he went on to say, that started a developmental revolution in agriculture, housing, environment, urban development, civil service, to mention a few. His overwhelming success in these sectors left a legacy that has survived the disasters that followed after he bowed out.
Ekpo later told www.calitown.com that, “As someone who spent his primary school years in Lagos, attended Federal Government colleges in Ilorin and Sokoto, University years in Zaria and Philadelphia, USA, and then cut his teeth politically as a successful Governor in one of Nigeria’s most ethnically and geographically diverse states, I am convinced that Donald has the temperament, political maturity, and the exposure to lead our country onward and upwards. I plead with Donald’s fellow contestants on the SDP platform to see his victory as theirs, as a stepping stone on the way to the redemption of our nation, which is what the party has advocated for since its formation. I ask that they join forces with him in the rescue of our great nation, for the battle is just about to commence.”
