The attention of the Caterpillar Movement has been drawn to an article captioned “CROSS RIVER STATE POWER ROTATION, WHITHER PROF SANDY ONOR AMBITION FROM CENTRAL” circulating on the social media purportedly authored by one Mr Francis Etang for himself and assumed principals.
Ordinarily the Caterpillar Movement would have chosen to ignore the baseless and unfounded allegations whose sole purpose is to smear the name and integrity of our principal, Distinguished Senator Prof. Sandy Onor, the incumbent Senator representing the Central Senatorial District of Cross River State. But we decided to respond for the sake of posterity and history; More so to save the discerning public from the pernicious diatribes inherent in the hallucinatory article of an ill informed person.
The said article is expressly malicious, frivolous, tenuous and laden with tissues of distorted facts, half truths, spurious and unsubstantiated claims against the person of the Distinguished Senator Sandy Onor.
It is noteworthy to state unequivocally that the said article is pedestrian and infantile and falls within the limited knowledge and imagination of the author whose sole purpose is to hoodwink the discerning public, discredit the imprimatur of the Caterpillar Movement and cause unnecessary anxiety in the politics of our dear state.
In view of the aforesaid, we wish to address some of the jaundiced issues raised in the write up.
1. Admittedly, the said Francis Etang confirmed that the Ejagham Speaking Nation in Cross River State are the largest group spread across the three Senatorial Districts; Unfortunately the same person accused Distinguished Senator Prof Sandy Onor of whipping the Ejagham sentiment for Governorship in many fora. Assuming without conceding that the above claim from Mr Etang is true, what is wrong with an Ejagham Man aspiring and becoming Governor of Cross River State? We make bold to state that Senator Prof Sandy ONOR is a patriotic citizen and imminently qualified to aspire for any office in the land without necessarily whipping ethnic sentiments.
2. On the issue of Zoning, the author not only lacks the basic information but he is totally clueless on the issues bothering on the subject matter and ended up confusing himself. He stated that:
“one of the topics of discussion as the 2023 elections draws near is the rotation of the office of the Governor of the state, which has gone round the three Senatorial Districts, which was HITHERTO NOT PART OF THE AGREEMENT.”
So, what was the content of the agreement?
He went further to claim that “the South ought to have taken power back immediately after His Excellency Liyel Imoke as the POWER ROTATION was between CALABAR and OGOJA”. From the above Premise, one can easily deduce the double-tongued nature of the writer who ended up approbating and reprobating at the same time. How can someone who claimed that there was hitherto no agreement for Zoning, also claim in another twist that there was a Zoning arrangement of Power Rotation between the old CALABAR and OGOJA Province? If his claims are anything to go by, one wonders on which premise he is now basing his argument for an exclusive zoning to the Southern Senatorial District after alluding to the fact that there was never anything called Zoning in Cross River State politics. Let us further reiterate that between the period of 1999- 2019, there was never any form of Exclusive Zoning in Cross River State, as election in Cross River State was a free for all affair for the three Senatorial Districts in Cross River State. Now, let us further assume without conceding that there was an agreement for Zoning between the Calabar and Ogoja Province, who then were signatories to this zoning agreement between the Calabar and Ogoja Province? Was it a political party affair or the collective agreement of the people of the State? Put differently, are these agents of geo-ethnic division not aware that the calabar-ogoja accord was founded on a completely different aspiration located within a different geopolitical context? In any case,this accord was suggested in the hay days of the defunct cross river state, which is today Akwa ibom and the present cross river state and accordingly, the geopolitical dynamics that characterised the past and present situations are completely different.
3. On his claim that Distinguished Senator Prof Sandy Onor is stretching his luck too far, we wish to reiterate that it is foolhardy for one to place the cart before the horse. Distinguished Senator Sandy Onor is too busy with the business of delivering the dividends of democracy to his constituents and working for the stability of the party, hence he is not perturbed by the shenanigans of people who lack the decorum to understand that POWER comes from God and not from the postulation of man about Largest or Smallest Local Government Area or even Senatorial district or ethnic group.
4. On the claim that the Distinguished Senator has hobnobbed with different Political Parties within the last ten years,
we state without contradiction that the writer of this thrash lied from the pit of hell. Since after leaving the APP for PDP in 2002 on completion of his sterling tour as chairman of Etung, Senator Onor has remained for over a decade, consistent with the PDP, discharging roles placed on his shoulders with commendable aplomb and huge positive impact.
Sen. PROF Sandy ONOR has never been a member of ACN. Infact, the said photograph of Sandy ONOR which this serial liar cited and claimed to be a picture of Onor as an Agent of ACN was the picture taken in INEC office, Calabar with sandy Onor as the PDP agent defending the interests of the party. The issues surrounding his senatorial election in 2015 are well known by all PDP faithfuls and need no further elaboration in order to let sleeping dogs be.
5. For emphasis, it was because of his rare leadership qualities and love for humanity, that the good people of Central Cross River Senatorial District gave him their mandate to represent them as Senator in the 9th Assembly of the Nigerian Senate, under the platform of the PDP, where he has distinguished himself in a very short time. Let us further state that the PDP faithfuls know who is with them and who is against them, and when the chips are down, they shall separate the chaff from the wheat.
Interestingly, the Distinguished Senator Sandy Onor is just too busy alongside other progressive members of his party, building bridges across all divides of our polity for the good of all the people, to concern himself with spurious accounts of ill informed paid agents.
6. While we understand that the fictitious write-up does not represent the thoughts and best interests of the majority of the good people of the southern Senatorial District because of the inconsistencies and narrowness of the writer,
we wish to categorically state that Distinguished Senator Prof Sandy Onor is not opposed to anybody, Senatorial District or ethnic group contesting for the office of the Governor in Cross River State, come 2023.
Let it be placed on record that it was Sandy Onor, alongside other young progressives who nurtured, supported and actualized the idea of an Efik Governorship in 1999. He has therefore paid his dues as a broadminded patriot and believer in the Cross River project and would appeal to all those interested in the Governorship of Cross River State, to break free from the odious cocoon of geographic politics and endear themselves to the people based on who they are and what they can do to better the lives of majority of Cross Riverians.
On his ambition come 2023, the distinguished Senator has resolved to speak when the moment summons him and he would do so with Biblical boldness to the satisfaction of majority of PDP faithfuls and Cross Riverians at large.
God Bless Cross River State.
From all of us in
THE CATERPILLAR MOVEMENT
HON (Chief)
Joe Obi Bisong.
DIRECTOR GENERAL
