By Jonathan Ugbal
A gubernatorial aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River State, Mr. Odey Ochicha has announced his withdrawal from the race.
Odey, who was the guber candidate of the party in the 2015 general elections also announced his support for another aspirant, Mr. John Upan Odey.
“My dear people, greetings! With due sense of humility and responsibility, I write to inform you that after deep reflection of emerging political realities, I have honourably decided to step aside from the 2019 governorship race in Cross River State due to inexplicable circumstances beyond my control,” Ochicha wrote on Facebook.
He continued: “I want to sincerely thank you all for your unalloyed support over the years and plead for your understanding. I will, after due consultation, communicate to you my future direction at the appropriate time. I regret all the inconvenience caused by this decision.”
Announcing his support for Mr. Upan, Ochicha averred that: “My dear people, let’s unite for John Upan Odey. He has the character, ability and competence to lead our state to el dorado .
“Don’t let anybody deceive, manipulate, use and dump you. Leadership is not money, position or title but simply influence, impact and inspiration so says Robin Sharma.
“And, note that the failure or success of any enterprise begins from the recruitment or selection process, garbage in or garbage out. Let’s get it right from the beginning by making the right choice. John Upan Odey is the right one.”
Mr. Upan is said to be the only APC guber aspirant in northern Cross River to have picked the nomination form while Senator John Owan-Enoh is said to have picked the form from the central.
Former culture and tourism minister, Edem Duke and Emmanuel Robson as well as Etim Nyong are lining up too from the southern senatorial district despite objections that the position was zoned to the northern senatorial district; a claim which has been denied by many prompting allegations and counter allegations.
CrossRiverWatch gathered that the declaration of Mr. Owan-Enoh had rocked the boat which forced a few people including Mr. Paul Adah to back down as they felt betrayed by the party’s leadership.
In Mr. Adah’s case, CrossRiverWatch gathered that he had believed that he will be given the ticket and felt he had the backing of Mr. Owan-Enoh who had requested that he delays his official declaration.
But, Mr. Owan-Enoh’s declaration, followed by Mr. Upan Odey’s purchase of the form 24 hours before he (Mr. Adah) would have been declared the consensus aspirant from the northern senatorial district, forced his hand to withdraw from the race.
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