Chairman, PDP
Cross River State
by crossriverwatch admin
From all indications, current council chairmen and councilors in Cross River State who are angling to return to their posts in December 2013 on the Peoples Democratic Party ticket have been left in the cold as the Cross River State Governor Senator Liyel Imoke has insisted that zoning of positions must have to take place so that those who have not had a touch of such offices could be given an opportunity.
Aspirants for the September 21 elections under PDP have also been asked to cough out whooping sums of N500, 000 for intent form and N1m for nomination form for the post of Chairman and N100, 000 for intent form and N300, 000 for nomination form for councilor.
Senator Imoke who is the leader of the PDP in the State told party caucuses and stakeholders in a meeting held at about 3am on Sunday that zoning of offices in the coming election is mandatory because it enhances peace and equity so those seeking to return to their posts should give way for others.
The governor said he is aware that those who are angling to return are harping on the fact that they have performed satisfactorily and should be given another three years but that would not be fair to other party faithfuls who have been waiting in the wings to occupy such positions.
The Governor was quoted to have said that even in his Local Government, Abi where Frank Eta, the current chairman is angling to return, he has asked him to stay aside and allow another person take his post.
“His Excellency knows that there is not much that a council chairman does since most of the projects are executed by the state and sees the position of chairman or councilor as empowerment for the boys and so if one person has had his share, it is only fair that another be given the same opportunity”. A source who was at the meeting said.
Imoke who had before his trip to the US during the Easter period saddled his three Personal Assistants on Political Matters (north, central, south) to collate the list of wards and units that have not had the opportunity of producing chairman or councilor to him told the political stakeholders to “ensure that they keep to the tenets of equity and fairness and accordingly zone the elective positions in their local government of wards”. Our source said.
On complaints that the sum of N500, 000 for intent form and N1m for nomination form for the post of chairman and N100, 000 for intent form and 300,000 for nomination form for councilor was too high, the governor is said to have told them that “The car for a Chairman is N15m so why should the person wishing to be chairman not be ready to sacrifice a paltry N1.5m to purchase the party form?”.
Meanwhile political activities in the state are on the high within the PDP as each stakeholder or aspirant is making desperate rounds to solicit for support with the release of the party guidelines on Monday and the near absence of activity by the opposition parties.
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