by crossriverwatch admin
The pronouncement by Senator Liyel Imoke, the Cross River State governor that the governorship slot for the state moves to the northern senatorial district in 2015 was not made off the cliff but after due consultations with stakeholders; so its stands.
Nigeria’s Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba who stated this in Calabar Thursday during an interaction with newsmen during his quarterly briefing of the press in his home state said, he being a loyal party member totally agrees with the pronouncement.
“You should remember that the Governor is the Leader of the party in the state so I totally agree with that because in Cross River State we are a family”.
Senator Ndoma Egba said even before the pronouncement by Governor Imoke, in 2007 during the election campaign, “He boldly stated in Ogoja that after the Central Senatorial District, the next district to hold the position of governor of the state is the north and that declaration still stands”
He called on the northern political class to work to together towards actualizing that cause.
“Political power is not donated but I know they stand an advantage to have it and they have the support of all of us in the party”
Speaking on broad national issues, Senator Ndoma Egba said allegations that some members of the National Assembly are said to be planning to impeach President Goodluck Jonathan after their recess is a herculean task as the job of impeaching the President is a farfetched political exercise which cannot come to fruition easily.
The Senate Leader said for law makers in the national assembly comprising of 350 in the House of Representatives and 109 in the Senate to contemplate impeaching a president elected by the whole country amounts to subverting the will of majority of the people which is difficult to accomplish.
“Impeaching a president is a political process and it is not as easy as just saying it because for 350 members of the House of Representatives and 109 Senators to remove a President whose mandate is given by the whole country amounts to subverting the will of the people and I don’t think that is feasible”.
The Senate Leader who represents the Central Senatorial District of Cross River State said the ongoing crisis in the PDP was just part of what defines its existence as a political party which has since its inception in 1998 experienced conflicts and crisis which are weightier than what is happening now.
“There is nothing wrong with the PDP as the party has gone through bigger crisis than this. In 2007, a sitting Vice President elected on the platform of the party decamped and the party still went ahead to contest and win elections what could be more serious than that?.
The crisis besieging the party, Ndoma Egba said, would be resolved at the appropriate time.
“I don’t remember when there have not been crisis in the PDP; this is simply familiar family irritations which would soon pass away. In politics twenty four hours is a long time for issues to be resolved. If someone had told you that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Governor Nyako would sit together on the same table today to define the same interests would you have believed it?”
He said even as some members of the party claim to belong to the New PDP and others still stick to the old PDP, the slogan, motto and manifesto of the party have not changed that shows that the contending forces still belong to a common ground.
On claims that the crisis in the PDP foreshadow the prophesy that Nigeria would disintegrate in 2015, Ndoma Egba said such claims are mere wishful thinking because right from inception, the country had always witnessed crisis but had never disintegrated.
“We have always been at the precipice but have never gone over the cliff so such claims are mere wishful thinking”.
On the contentious autonomy sought for the local government, Senator Ndoma Egba said each Senator voted based on his or her understanding of the constitutional provision on whether the constitution contemplates local governments as appendages of the state or separate entities.
“The Constitution in Section 162 (4) does not make the local governments federating units but appendages of the states but in Section 7, the Constitution talks about financial autonomy for them so how each Senator resolved the issue in his mind led to how he voted because it is not a straight forward matter but I think those at the local government need to do more to convince us that the local governments are federating units not appendages of the state”.
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