From Judex Okoro, Calabar
In this interview, National President of a group, Tinubu for New Nigeria, Prince Ekanem Ekpo, has said that no matter the hues and cries about the All Progressives Congress (APC) Muslim-Muslim presidential candidacy, it would not stop Bola Tinubu’s train to Aso Rock as the party’s presidential candidate is the leader that would respond positively to the yearnings and aspirations of a common man.
Maintaining that Tinubu’s Presidency would bring about complete change from the past to a new Nigeria, Ekpo, who doubles as the Chairman, Cross River Safety Commission and a veteran political support group mobiliser, expressed optimism that APC would win landslide at the national level and in Cross River State because the party has performed to merit the votes of the electorate in 2023.
The current political situation seems to be very unstable and people are scared because of insecurity, hardship and ethnicity that have taken over our environment. Do you see the present presidential candidates jostling to lead us as having what it takes to get us out of the woods?
All is expected of our leaders in this nick of time is for them to change their mentality about leadership and redefine it to suit our peculiarities. We need to get it right by putting the right people in various offices and entrust them with a mandate to deliver or be voted out in the next election. Besides, our leaders need to know that leadership has to do with lots of responsibilities to pilot the new Nigeria we want.
I understand clearly that we need a new Nigeria; a Nigeria that we can beat our chest and say yes, we have arrived once again; a Nigeria that would give us a sense of belonging. And that is what I have been yearning for and cannot stop till I get there. So, for us to get there, we need Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to drive the leadership of this country in 2023. If you critically examine each of the presidential candidates, you would agree with me that Tinubu has the capacity, pedigree and will power to take us to the next level of governance. If he can succeed in business, then he can succeed in governance. He has also been properly mentored. His age has nothing to do with governance after all he had transversed the length and breadth of the country. He did it during the primaries and would still do that again during the main electioneering. As a president, he would stay in the office and direct affairs. Even the Muslim-Muslim ticket would not stop Tinubu’s train to Aso Rock. We are certain that as our next president, he would respond positively to our yearnings and aspirations; his presidency would bring equity, justice and fairness no matter where the person is from. It is about a complete change from the past to a new Nigeria of our dream. And Tinubu presidency would offer that.
Considering the fact that Cross River was predominantly a PDP state, are you not afraid of the strength of the opposition party that seems to be gathering steam coupled with the quality of their governorship candidate?
Where is the opposition? I cannot see any opposition in the state. We were in PDP when the party was strong and we made it strong. But when we discovered that the big men then, who now see themselves as colonial masters were not ready to give the young generation of leaders an opportunity, we moved out to APC with Governor Ayade. Our movement has crashed PDP and what you are seeing is just noise making. By the time we start campaigning, you would see the strength of APC in the state. Besides, APC has done much for the state right from federal appointment. We have had a head of service of the federation, the Chief Judge of the federation, Chief of naval staff, ministerial appointment. In terms of infrastructure, we have been lucky too as seen in the new Ikom Bridge. I can say that there has never been an administration that has touched the lives of Cross Riverians like the APC government. During the COVID-19, a lot of Cross Riverians benefited from the COVID funds. Election is not won on social media. With all these achievements, it would be difficult to win APC in the state with our structures all over the place. We are taking back the state from Calabar to Yala because we would run out PDP in 2023.
The APC candidate, Prince Otu, is being challenged in Court by one of the governorship aspirants, Sen John Owan Enoh, seeking the nullification of Otu’s candidacy on the ground that he, Otu, was not properly cleared to contest the primary election. Are you not worried that this litigation may affect the chances of the party in 2023?
There is no case there. It is between Sen. Enoh and the party. Otu went for screening and he was cleared. So, what is the fuse about it? It is unfortunate that Sen. Enoh, being a strong party man, can challenge the decision of the party knowing full well that it is the party that conducts all primaries and clears all candidates and submits names to INEC. Let me tell you here that Otu is the candidate of the party and that Sen. Enoh is wasting his time because the litigation would not work. It is clear the intrigues are being manipulated from outside the party.
But there is this notion that the Prince is only popular in the South and not known in the central and North senatorial district of the state. So, how far have your support group gone in reaching out to the other electorate in those areas?
There is nothing that you do that there won’t be stories around it. For us we have heard such story which is not true because we have set up supper structures across the state and down to polling units to assist the party. Besides, we have coordinators in all the local government areas and the wards. We are rest assured that come 2023, Otu would take over form Ayade. I started Prince Otu mobilisation at a time people didn’t even give him a chance. For some of us that know the past and that are versed with the travails of the present, we can, by very marginal error, predict with some measures of accuracy that APC would win in 2023. So, I can tell you that the Cross River State future without Prince Otu is bleak. Except you allow Otu to build upon what Governor Ayade has started, it would be very tough for us ahead. He understands that you have to build the people and empower the people; you have to build infrastructure and develop the state. He understands that clearly having been a member of the House of Representatives and the Senate. During that time, he reached out to people across the state. Then, he made us understand that there was money in the Senate. I can tell you that when he was a Senator, the governor didn’t have problem because Otu was busy empowering people. So, when I discovered that there is a man like this with sterling qualities and has credibility, I started mobilising for him since again, it is the turn of the South.
There seems to be lots of political support groups sprouting all over the parties. Don’t you think these groups are usurping the roles of political parties in electioneering as this?
I don’t think so. Rather, these support groups are complementing the efforts of political parties because it is not everybody that would be carried along within the party structures. Agreed that parties have ward, local government and state executives in place but these structures would not accommodate all party members who are willing and ready to work. Thus, the volunteer groups in the name of support groups to boost and drive the party at grassroots as well as assist in funding their preferred candidates. Political parties are supposed to be unbiased umpires. So, we rather identify who would be marketable to the electorate and then we present the person to the party especially during primary elections. I would rather say the support groups deepen democracy by tasking themselves to spread the gospel of aspirants or candidates as the case may be. These groups have changed the mentality of political supporters by playing key roles in terms of funding of candidates and parties.