By our correspondent
South South chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC has described the recent disparaging of the APC Presidential Candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari’s age and academic attainment by some Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP officials during last Friday’s rally in Calabar, Cross River state as ’’a belated and very cheap blackmail that cannot dislodge the conviction of Cross Riverians about the neglect, cluelessness and insensitivity of the PDP government over them.’’
The PDP had at a presidential rally in Calabar, Cross River state on Friday disparaged General Buhari’s age and academic attainment saying he is not qualified to govern the country.
But the south south zone of the APC in a statement in Calabar said, “rather than believe their cheap blackmail ,Cross Riverians were only sober and recalling the many neglect and injuries inflicted on them by the PDP government of President Jonathan’’.
The statement said ‘’under Jonathan’s watch the state lost a gold mine of 76 oil wells which has put pressure on the state’s economy and rendered it impotent.’’
Endorsed by the Special Adviser to the party’’s south south zonal chairman, Mr.Bassey Ita,the statement read in part; ‘’In the first instance President Goodluck Jonathan’s visit to Calabar on Friday was on the ground of being the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which moral and constitutional right he richly possesses and of course not as PDP candidate canvassing for the vote of Cross Riverians.
‘’But if what we saw at the U.J Esuene stadium on Friday could be a smart way of campaigning for Jonathan’s re-election in Cross River state, then it becomes clearer that the PDP machinery needs an urgent psychiatric overhaul to think away from the moral bankruptcy of doing so in a state its government had plunged into intractable quagmire.’’
The APC said Cross Riverians have not also forgotten in a jiffy that under the watch of the PDP government, President Jonathan could not secure the assurance of returning Bakassi back to the true owners even with the opportunity of doing so.
It also said that the president has had a history and record of empty and unfulfilled promises to the state and cited the construction of a Petrochemical company, the dredging of the Calabar Seaport , the construction of roads, the improvement of the status and economic viability of the Tinapa resort and the EPZ among others as typical examples.
The party recalled that ‘’of course during the so called campaign, these issues were raised by one only sane man, Mr. Donald Duke who pointed out that Jonathan has failed to fix all federal roads, ensure political resolution of the 76 oil wells imbroglio as well as to justify the development demands of the south south people. All others were either smarting in sycophancy or were too sick to utter a word of truth to the President.
“Cross Riverians would not be excited about a Jonathan’s reelection bid for the sake of it without considering the effect of the locust and the caterpillar meted on them by the Jonathan’s government. So another four years of a Jonathan’s presidency means Cross River will be completely extinct and it’s unfortunate those who join to canvass for the votes of our people for the PDP cannot see beyond their own nose.”
It therefore urged those disparaging its Presidential Candidate ,General Buhari to ‘’learn fast, the handwriting on the wall which clearly indicates that the spirit had left Saul; rather than take the Saul’s option of cheap blackmail and horse-trading a David whose anointing for the new dispensation cannot be withdrawn.’’
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