Former governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Cross River State, Sandy Onor, says he has no reasons to comment on political issues in Cross River State or Nigeria through any group of persons, under any kind of colouration, maintaining that “I am not a coward, afraid to speak for himself and take full responsibility.”
Onor spoke exclusively with www.calitown.com, on the heels of last Saturday’s press conference in Abuja by a coalition of support groups under the PDP, calling on him to reclaim CRS from the APC.
The group, which includes the Presidential Support Group, Community Development Clusters, and Youth Fronts. The group’s spokesperson Mike Ekanem, had accused Bassey Otu, Cross River governor, of failing to deliver “democratic dividends, citing economic stagnation, decaying infrastructure, and political intolerance.” He also condemned the disruption of a federal government-backed Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, project inauguration in Calabar.
“I do not know the so called group that held the press conference and I am not afraid to say so. I ran elections against Otu and he was declared winner. I have moved on to greater things. I will simply advice him to focus on governance and not be led into the same sycophantic frenzy used during the Ben Ayade administration. The same people who chanted “digital, digital” to Ayade, are the same people who now strongly condemn his performance”, Onor said.
Speaking further, he said that, “…they are now saying Otu’s administration is a Season of Sweetness, if he doesn’t concentrate on using due diligence to deliver good governance, history will not spare him. Of course the same people hailing him will malign him in conversations that will be loudly had”. He advised the said coalition to speak for themselves and not use him as their bargaining chip.
Similarly, a press statement forwarded to us by and signed Joe Obi Bisong, DG, Caterpillar Movement, in reaction to an article written by Linus Obogo, Chief Press Secretary to the CRS governor, maintains that, “Sandy Onor has, over the years, spoken truth to power with regards to society and government and as such, will never shy away from rendering his opinion himself or through his official channels.”
“For the avoidance of doubt, we must state categorically that the opinion shared by the author does not in any way represent the position of Sen. Sandy Onor. We urge the writer to desist from baseless insinuations and instead focus on his primary duty of reporting the activities of the state government; if any.”
“Once more, we enjoin our supporters to be law abiding citizens and urge that the name of our principal should not be used to score cheap political points or proxy wars”, it stated.
