By Archibong Jeremiah
Dr. David Effiong Okon, National Leader, Restoration Team of Nigeria, REST TEAM has denied allegations that he’s leading or supporting any campaign against the nomination of Pastor Usani Uguru Usani as ministerial nominee from Cross River State.
He refuted the allegation recently in Calabar when approached by some journalists. According to him, the denial is necessary following the spate at which the campaign against the nomination is going.
Before now speculations within the APC in the State has it that Dr. Okon is a contender for the slot and has been leading a campaign underground against the nomination of the party leader in the State.
He revealed that he had been asking those calling on him to lead the campaign or support their course that “what do we have to say about Pastor Usani? What do you want me to say about him? Is it that he’s not a party man? Is it that he has not been fighting for the course of this party? Has he not suffered degradation? Has he not suffered other inhuman acts been mated upon him?
“I don’t have anything to say against him, if I do I will be fighting against my conscience, if I have any personal matter with him that is not enough to allow such parochial consideration to cloud my sense of reasoning most of all when it has to do with state and national issues, so they should allow Pastor Usani Usani be”, he said.
The PAC Chieftain further urged President Buhari to do what he considers best for the State, his words: “I will urge the President and his team to do whatever they have chosen to do for the State, it is left for us to allow Pastor Usani to show to us that he cannot serve his party well in the State or he cannot serve the State well or the nation well.
“Positions as far as I am concerned are given by God then pronouncement by human being, on daily basis we are writing our history. I will not be happy if anybody that has not suffered for this party is nominated for position, outside that I think we would be doing ourselves wrong”.
Dr. David who was the Deputy Governorship candidate to Pastor Usani Usani when he ran for governor under the defunct ACN maintained that “Pastor Usani is not new in governance, being a Commissioner in ministries of Youth, Sports and Culture and of Agriculture, before this time he has been a Special Assistant to the Governor on Speech Writing. If during these periods nobody has found him wanting, the simple meaning of that is that he has performed. His aspiration for governor shows that he can work, nobody in his right thinking would want to go backwards only forward”.