From Judex Okoro, Calabar
The Cross River chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Venatius Ikem, Esq, has expressed readiness to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 general election.
Ikem, who stated this while receiving the report of the reconciliation committee set up a few weeks in his office in Calabar on Thursday, bemoaned the absence of quality governance in the state and stressed that the 2023 elections have presented a better time for the state to be rescued.
The chairman noted that PDP remains the best party to restore normalcy to the polity and the mode of governance in Cross River.
“Our people are groaning under a horrible leadership and it is up to us to extricate from this dungeon that we have all found ourselves,” he said.
“Nobody could have imagined that a vibrant young man could be so poor in performance in government.
“As a party, we are ready and we will be united in the pursuance of rescuing our state from poor governance.”
Commenting on the committee report, Ikem assured that the recommendations would be implemented, urging the committee members not to rest until victory is achieved by the party.
“I must commend you for a job well done even without looking at the report. While you were going round the state, we were privy to what was happening,” he stated.
Read also: Malnutrition: Agency urges increased investment in food production
Earlier, Mr Effiok Cobham, chairman of the reconciliation committee, said that the committee came up with far-reaching recommendations that if implemented would ensure victory for the party.
While noting that there were bound to be aggrieved persons, especially after primaries, however, said that the strength of the party lies in the unity of its members.
Cobham, a former deputy governor in the state, said that the committee achieved greater success on its assignment having visited all the aggrieved members in the eight federal constituencies of the state.
“However, we won’t say we have reconciled all aggrieved members but we achieved more than what we set out for ourselves and the reconciliation is still ongoing and the recommendation we submitted is implementable.
“If implemented, it would enhance the chances of the party in the 2023 general elections,” he stated.
The party leadership had in July set up a reconciliation committee to among others reconcile aggrieved members and aspirants across the state.
They toured around the eight federal constituencies in the state and had town hall meetings where party members expressed their views on happenings after the primary elections.