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C'River APC group writes open letter to Oshiomhole (See full text)

Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, APC national Chairman

Comrade Oshiomhole, Cross River APC governorship ticket should not be sold to highest bidder

Att: President Muhammadu Buhari

This open letter is necessitated by the urgency of issues of gross injustice meted on members of APC from the northern senatorial district of Cross River State. These issues if not properly addressed will mar the APC chances of having a good outing in the state.


1. Sir, the  APC, which has the anti-corruption fight as its focal point shouldn't be reduced to a commercial club where suspected treasury looters will use to launder their loot and thereafter use it to regroup and fight the party.


2. Unfortunately, this is what is playing out in Cross River where the leadership of the party has concluded plans to handover our party ticket to an aspirant from Cross River Central, in contravention of the zoning arrangement in the party, simply because they are in his pocket. The aspirant boast about it himself that he has bought everybody in the power, including your humble self Mr. Chairman.


3. Mr. Chairman Sir, it is in the throes of these excruciating pains, disappointment and frustration, that we want to draw your attention to the danger awaiting our great party in Cross River State ahead of 2019 as a result of greed and desperation by some members of our party who are working so hard to ensure the party has a woeful outing next year.


4. Sir, we believe there's nothing that is happening in Cross River state APC today that's new to you as you have severally shown keen interest in the politics of the state. In view of this, we want to refresh your memory to the fact that like in other states, APC in Cross River state also practices zoning.


5. To ensure peace, equity and fairness, in 2014, party leaders sat and agreed that some key positions of the party including the governorship ticket be zoned among the three senatorial districts. The Chairmanship position was in the central senatorial district, state secretary, south while the governorship ticket was zoned to the north which at the time was the only senatorial district yet to produce a governor in the state.


6. Mr. Odey Ochicha from the north emerged the party's governorship candidate in 2015. When it was almost like a sacrilegious act to belong to APC, the north rallied round Ochicha who never enjoyed the support of critical APC stakeholders to come second in the election. For the first time in the history of the state, Cross River was able to give an opposition party about 28,000 votes in Presidential election. Despite the PDP also having a governorship candidate from the north, result released by INEC revealed that the north gave President Muhammadu Buhari and APC the highest number of votes among the three senatorial districts.


7. Till date, Ochicha remains the only governorship candidate of any political party in the state that took his campaign to the 196 political wards in the state. Although he didn't win, but he came second even ahead of the then executive secretary of National Planning Commission.


8. Despite this sacrifice, when APC won the Presidential elections, members of the party from northern senatorial district were never considered by President Buhari for any reasonable appointment. Even the governorship candidate who sacrificed so much for the party using his hard earned money was not considered qualified for any good appointment. He was embarrassingly appointed the Chairman of a crippling polytechnic in Oyo State.


9. For the records, we want to state that the central alone has the State Chairman of our party, Minister of Niger Delta, NDDC Chairman, two career ambassadors, Auditor General, Chief of the Naval Staff, Director General National Centre for Women Development (by birth), Special Assistant on Prosecution to the President, Chairman, Presidential Panel on recovering of Public Assets etc. The South has the National Vice Chairman (South South), NDDC Commissioner, Ambassador, Head of Service of the Federation, Director, Basin Authority amongst others. Despite this magnanimity done the state by President Buhari, the north that sacrificed so much to give APC a foot hold in the state was never considered for anything reasonable.


10. Having supported the central and south to retain the positions that were zoned to them in 2014, the two senatorial districts have cunningly turned their back on the north to retain the governorship ticket which was zoned there in 2014. Some people who just crossed to APC yesterday just to pursue their selfish ambitions have bought over people who should ordinarily be men of conscience in APC to lie that there's no zoning in APC.


11. Mr. Chairman sir, may we remind you that you and all the members of the national working committee of the party are products of zoning. Zoning was adopted to fill the party's position from the ward to the national level.


12. Sir, we want to bring to your notice that when the then Chairman of the party, Pastor Usani Usani was made Niger Delta Minister, his deputy, Sir John Ochala assumed office in acting capacity. It was not too long before the central which we all know is over saturated came knocking. They argued that the north can't keep the chairmanship and governorship ticket. As loyal party member, Ochala relinquished the party chairmanship and returned as deputy to Dr. Mathew Achigbe.


13. During the state Congress and national convention, nobody from the north contested against the state Chairman nor the national Vice Chairman. This was not because they had no qualified people to contest, it was simply because the people believe in the unity of the party fostered by zoning.


14. Sir, today, the central that argued that the north can't keep state Chairmanship and governorship ticket have people running for the party's governorship ticket. There's nowhere in Nigeria where the party chairman and Governor or National Chairman and President come from the same zone. The south too whom the north supported to retain everything that the party zoned there have people running for the same governorship ticket.


15. We dare ask, are we less a senatorial district than others? Is this how to reward those who have been very loyal and have sacrificed so much for the party? Are we in APC to work for other zones to benefit? Is it right for a zone to keep national Vice Chairmanship and State Chairmanship respectively and still ask for the governorship ticket which belongs to other zones? If there's no zoning in the party, what stopped all those who are contesting now from contesting in 2015? Are we slaves to other senatorial districts in APC?


16. It's for these unanswered questions and many others that we have resolved that if APC gives the governorship ticket to another zone other than the north, we will vote massively for the PDP. APC is an opposition in Cross River, giving central or south the ticket will mean that the party has donated one full senatorial district to the PDP because we won't only revolt by voting against a governorship candidate from another zone but we will replicate the protest in all the elections.


17. The only way out for APC in Cross River state now is for the leadership of the party to mandate other zones to respect zoning like the north has always done. Anything other than that will make 2019 elections an efforts in futility because the PDP will be returned in the state.


18. A central governorship candidate will mean a total disaster in 2019 because the South would prefer to vote PDP to complete four years for power to return to them than vote central that just left power three years ago for eight years. Central have had governorship for ten years. Chief Clement Ebri did two years before Imoke came and did eight years again. The south on the other hand have done eight years therefore equity, fairness and justice which are the virtues of APC demands that the north should retain the ticket to produce a governor that will complete the zone's four years.


19. The south have waited for 12 years and can still wait for four more years. The north waited for 16 years to produce Governor. Why can't the central wait? The south will never want to extend their wait to 20 years by supporting a central person.


20. As loyal party members, we will continue to work for the success of the party with the hope that our complains will not be treated with kid gloves because we will never go back on our promise to protest against the party by voting PDP in all positions should the governorship ticket be stolen from the north.


21. Esteemed regards.

Dr. Stephen Adalikwu

Chairman


Chief Maurice Odey

Secretary
Politics 6272253583474383253

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