2023 Guber Race: Running Mate Choice Threatens PDP’s ‘Take C-River Back’ Plans
- Protesters storm Party Secretariat in Calabar
BY UBON EKANEM, CALABAR – In what seems a raging gathering storm that may easily truncate the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s signature tune of ‘taking back Cross River State’ come 2023 general elections, the opposition party in the South-South State is currently neck-deep in crisis.
No thanks to the choice of its deputy governorship candidate for next year’s poll that political watchers have described as a make or mar outing for the party that held sway in the State for over 22 years until the sitting Governor, Professor Ben Ayade broke the impressive stint in May 2021 when he embraced the All Progressives Congress (APC) as his new abode.
On Wednesday, June 29, 2022, angry PDP supporters stormed the party’s Secretariat located along the popular Mary Slessor Avenue in Calabar, the State capital to protest and demand the immediate withdrawal of the candidacy of Mrs Emana Ambrose picked as the running mate to the gubernatorial flag bearer, Senator Sandy Onoh.
In their numbers, the bulk of the protesters from the Akpabuyo, Bakassi, and Calabar South Federal constituency, who carried posters with different inscriptions to drive home their message, threatened to dump the PDP if the issue is not urgently addressed heading into the 2023 elections.
Led by the Chairman of Ward 9 in Calabar South Local Government Area, Mr Edem Oyom, the protesters queried the party’s wisdom in choosing someone they described as “a greenhorn” in the party politics for the strategic post of deputy governor instead of more experienced and qualified politicians who can add value to the ticket.
According to the angry party men, it is even more worrying that the PDP is ignoring the obvious fact that the APC currently controls the government apparatus in the state, and only battle-tested hands with political value addition are needed to pair the governorship standard-bearer when the chips are down.
They vowed to employ all available and reasonable means at their disposal to convince the party hierarchy in the State to have a change of mind in order to avoid disastrous electoral outings come next year
On hand to receive the protesting party stakeholders and supporters at the Secretariat was the State PDP Secretary, Comrade Tony Edago who praised them for conducting themselves in a peaceful manner with the assurance that being a party known for its listening ear, such a sensitive issue would certainly be addressed to the satisfaction of all parties involved.
Reminding them of the free and fair manner the party conducted its primaries across the state, the PDP Scribe promised that the selection of a deputy governorship candidate would not become an intractable problem that cannot be amicably resolved within the political family.
