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Chief Soni Abang stirred the hornet’s nest late last week when he granted an interview to one of the Governor’s one thousand media aides and instead of speaking about the issues surrounding his party’s difficult campaign, as its supposed Director General, he needlessly took a bronco – charge at the People’s Democratic Party, haughtily unleashing an extensive narrative that belied and made a mockery of the real facts that are alive and on ground in Cross River State today.
While Chief Soni Abang speaks about the PDP as having a moral baggage in the interview, the real moral baggage of the PDP was and still is, with the greatest respect, Chief Soni Abang himself. Apart from the fact that he was Chairman of Boki local government area under the umbrella of the party and thereafter Chairman of the same PDP for about seven years, his tenures witnessed unbridled greed and extortion by his goodself or agents, while selection of Party candidates was administered like a bazaar with the tickets going to the highest bidders. He was draconian in leadership and elephantine in his appetite for money, big cars and good food. At one point, the leadership had to make the difficult decision to banish him to the Republic of Mali, just to keep him far away from the cookie jar. This is the moral baggage that Chief Soni Abang has fortunately transferred to the All Progressive Congress and its tainted candidates, which he should frankly be speaking about.
His reference to an imaginary principle of zoning in Cross River State flies in the face of truth because he is obviously aware that such a principle does not and has never existed. The Cross River State Director General of the APC campaign should be well advised to rather focus on the following issues:
1. The difficult matter of running on Governor Ben Ayade’s legacy.
2. The yet to be answered questions about the certificates of his party’s governorship candidate.
3. Whether his party’s governorship candidate was duly cleared to contest the Primaries or otherwise.
4. The questionable character and reputation of his party’s candidates, generally speaking.
5. The dire need to find workable ways to boost the economy of the state, create jobs and restore investor confidence in Cross River State.
6. The Director General of the APC campaign may also wish to address the allegations hanging around his neck, like the sword of Damocles, that he has been fully paid by this government for his portion of the Boki East – West Road which has been abandoned.
One cannot live in a glass house and continue to throw stones at his neighbours indiscriminately. The campaigns for the elections of 2023 shall be conducted the way the parties model them to be.
The choice is between an issues – based campaign or a mudslinging model. While the Senator Sandy Onor campaign organisation in particular and the PDP at large, has chosen to deal with the issues as they affront and affect the generality of our people, we are also prepared to respond appropriately in kind, whenever and wherever the integrity of our patriotic charge is considered to have been unduly impugned.
In the face of the greatest rape of our State throughout the history of our corporate existence, and the systematic destruction of everything we hold dear, young men holding food on the table jobs could be excused to join the Hallelujah Choir; not men like Sony Abang who till today, are known to be unrepentant secret critics of of Governor Ben Ayade’s misgovernance. It is a blatant tragedy indeed, for people like Chief Soni Abang, to whom this state and the PDP gave life, to be seen to validate, as the cheerleader, the complete decimation of all the achievements their excellencies Donald Duke and Liyel Imoke both of whom brought him up by hand, left behind. Surely there must be other ways of baking bread beside being a zombie or puppet for someone else.
DG, CATERPILLAR MOVEMENT
