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Tag: #Sandy Onor

  • That Fake Communique From The So Called Southern And Northern Leaders Of Thought

    That Fake Communique From The So Called Southern And Northern Leaders Of Thought

    THAT FAKE COMMUNIQUE FROM SO CALLED SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN LEADERS OF THOUGHT

    If not that in Nigerian politics one must respond to every barking dog, including the ones that are afflicted with rabies and canine influenza, there should have been no reason to ingratiate this flimsy piece of vomitus with this response that it does not by all means merit, in proper consideration of the substance and personages involved.

    But we must respond in other that innocent citizens of our dear state are saved the great peril of believing that the real man inside the mask is a member of the dancing troupe, not knowing that the fellow is merely a wayfarer that lost his bearing long before harmattan came and made his feet white and scaly. This response is therefore a social service to save the innocent from believing the guilty.

    To begin with, there was no meeting of Northern and Southern political leaders anywhere in the world on the 2nd of March, 2023, neither physical nor digital, nothing. No venue, no signatures, no truth. Secondly, there were no elected political office holders from the North mentioned at the fantom meeting. Not one! Just a continuation of the regime of lying and blindfolding that has crippled our dear state, misled our vibrant youth and made our corporate name a laughing stock throughout the federal republic.

    The people purported to have been at the imaginary meeting who are said to have signed the communique are quite frankly what one may safely describe as politically irrelevant as at today, even if you may admit that some of them may have held some kind of sway in time past, who unfortunately have detoriotated into the inelegant toga of food-on-the-table politicians.

    This assortment of have-beens, ethnic jingoists and ex-convicts clearly do not and cannot have the mandate of the people for whom they are posturing to speak. They are people who have condoned mediocrity and criminality in exchange for a mess of potage. For almost eight years they have watched the most brazen and dastardly attack on our commonality, our heritage and our common patrimony without so much of a righteous wimper or indignation. They represent no one in the South and certainly no one in the North. What they represent, to say the truth, is the length of their throats and the depth of their stomachs. It is the quest for more free food and unmerited patronage that spurs them on.

    We in the People’s Democratic Party are not surprised at their latest tantrums because we understand their fears. They have calculated correctly that the coming election will be different from the last one where they where allowed to rig freely without counter measures on the part of our party. They are also afrighted by the gale of adoptions by various interest groups including the PFN and 10 other parties who have seen that the candidate of the PDP is the only one with the vision, workplan and moral standing that can return Cross River State to the path of honour and prosperity.

    The Calabar-Ogoja-Accord has served its purpose and all three Senatorial Zones of the state have had their chance to lead the state or to ruin it. What we need today is a leader with the vision to heal Cross River from the rape and devastation it has endured and move it quickly forward to where it ought to be and not pieces of paper from food eaters who’s silent acquersence and duplicitous relationship with Ayade’s government helped the heist to pull through. Thank God the masses of our people know better and have chosen to cast their lot for Senator Sandy Ojang Onor come March 18,2023.

    CATERPILLAR MEDIA

  • C’River Guber Race: Coalition Of Opposition Political Parties Adopts, Collapse Structure For Sandy Onor

    C’River Guber Race: Coalition Of Opposition Political Parties Adopts, Collapse Structure For Sandy Onor

    By Admin

    Gale of defection has continued to gather momentum as the Coalition of Opposition Political Parties (COPPS) Cross River state chapter has formerly adopted and endorsed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Sen Sandy Onor, ahead of the governorship polls.

    The Coalition made up of not fewer than 10 political parties, said they decided to collapsed their structures in support of Onor’s candidacy after their extra-ordinary meeting held yesterday to review state of affairs.

    A few days back, Sen Sandy Onor had also secured the endorsement of notable religious, social-clutural and political groups including the Ejagham Stakeholders Forum, (ESHF), Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), and the Obi-Dients Movements.

    In a statement by the Chairman of COPPs, Mr Ntami Esege, on behalf of ten of them, it said that the decision to team up with the PDP candidate is to support the man with the right credentials to led the state to an enviable height.

    He noted that the decision to support the PDP candidate was arrived at, after a careful assessment of all the candidates with focus on competence, capacity and character

    He pointed out that Onor’s antecedent placed him above every other candidate for the job of leading the state for the next four years.

    “Conscious of what the State has gone through in the last eight years, we unanimously resolved to support a man with the right credentials to lead the Stale to an enviable height,” he stated.

    The political parties include ADC, ZLP, AA, APGA, APP, APM, NRM, ADP, BP and Accord.

  • John Ifere, Labour Party Candidate For Abi/Yakurr Federal Constituency Adopts Sandy Onor For Governor

    John Ifere, Labour Party Candidate For Abi/Yakurr Federal Constituency Adopts Sandy Onor For Governor

    By Elijah Ugani and Obeten Emmanuel 

    The Labour Party candidate for Abi/Yakurr federal constituency election in the just concluded presidential and national assembly election, Mr John Ifere has endorsed the candidacy of Prof Sandy Onor for the March 18th governorship election in Cross River State.

    The endorsement took place at his country home, Ugep Yakurr local government area, where his supporters and members of the Labour Party had converged to receive the governorship candidate of the PDP, Sen Sandy Onor.

    Mr Ifere had lost the election to Hon Alex Egbonna of the All Progressive Congress APC.

    Watch the video attached

    https://www.facebook.com/emmanuelenang.obeten/videos/176410948481538/?d=w&mibextid=qC1gEa

     

  • Sandy Onor And The Imperative Of Confronting The Absurd In CRS BY GABRIEL NCHA

    Sandy Onor And The Imperative Of Confronting The Absurd In CRS BY GABRIEL NCHA

    SANDY ONOR AND THE IMPERATIVE OF CONFRONTING THE ABSURD IN CRS

    By Dr Gabriel Ncha

    It is common knowledge that what is seen as good governance, is understood in terms of good and efficient service delivery. This in Commonwealth political parlance is known as dividends of democracy, meaning that the basic needs of the people in terms of food, clothes and shelter, a healthy environment for actualization of one’s potentials, health, and security, and above all the provision of job opportunities are made available to the citizenry. On the contrary, the feeling of alienation and exclusion from mainstream political participation by the people hinders the success of these objectives, which ultimately ensure the peace and stability of any government.

    This is the situation we found ourselves in Cross River, which makes it imperative to have an absurd thought, an existential device for navigating through difficult human existential situation.This is the position that the PDP gubernatorial candidate Prof Sandy Onor has taken to ensure the deliverance of Cross Rive from the clutches of ineptitude and non performance. Please follow me carefully..Basically, the “absurd” is a term associated with Albert Camus an existentialist and famous novelist and Poet.The attempt to analyze problems, ask basic questions and try to find out the meaning of life and if there can be any meaningful existence reflects a feeling of existentialism. So,the hard facts of life captured by anguish, death, pain, suffering, crime, killings, disasters, injustice, economic/political evils, and a host of other vices, constitute the paraphernalia of existentialism.

    Camus,in his existential philosophy, uses such terms as absurd, revolt, and passion, these are basic tools for understanding and solving human existential problems. “Absurd ”is a feeling which arises from the confrontation of the world, which is irrational, with the hopeless but profound human desire to make sense of our condition. The appropriate response to this situation is to live in full consciousness of it.

    By ” revolt” Camus means the defiance in the face of the bleak truth about the human condition, hopeless but not resigned, lending to life a certain grandeur. By *passion” Camus means the resolve to live as intensely as possible, not so as to escape the sense of absurdity, but so as to face it with absolute lucidity. The experiences of Prof Sandy Onor, over the years places him in a comfortable position with these tools mentioned above, to change the narrative in Cross River State governance, and return the good people of our dear state to the paradise that God gave them. Prof Sandy has gathered experiences in various positions as executive chairman Etung LGA,Deputy National President of the Association of Local Govt of Nigeria, Acting National President of the same Association, Cross Rider State Coordinator of Obadanjo/Atiku Presidential Campaign Director ,Directorial General of PDP Campaign Organizations in Cross River State,represented Cross River State in the Political Reform Conference, Commissioner of Agriculture and Environment,Chairman Cross River State local government Service Commission, among others and now Senator of the federal republic of Nigeria. Thousands of Cross Riverians have benefited from Prof Sandy’s humanitarian activities as testified by many. Most importantly, in all these, Prof Sandy, has acquired what is called Positional Consciousness in existential parlance. Positional Consciousness puts Consciousness into relation with one’s surroundings. This gives one an explicit awareness of being conscious of one’s surroundings. Identity is constructed by this explicit awareness of Consciousness. How ever, this is distinguished from Non-Positional Consciousness which is being merely conscious of one’s surroundings, without affecting it positively. It is instructive today that the current regime in Cross River is guilty of Non-Positional Consciousness, as it’s activities are not existentialized, meaning that the condition of the human person is not taken into cognizance.This has resulted in people being constantly haunted by hunger, unemployment, hostile environment and a political climate that smacks of deceit, betrayal, unfaithful ness,and hard hearted ness that have left virtually and literarily everyone to groan underneath with no one to rescue them. In this circumstance therefore, the saviour is no other person than Sandy Onor, with the acquired Positional Consciousness, has arrived to provide the needed succour to Cross Riverians. With the Sisyphean spirit of defiance in the face of the absurd. Sandy is armed sufficiently to tackle the menace of absurd. More technically, and less metaphorically, it is the spirit of opposition against any perceived unfairness, opposition or indignity in the human condition.

    Cross River State, the people’s Paradise has not experienced any paradized atmosphere for many years, rather a shadow of itself, now has the opportunity to regain its past glory by making a rational and fundamental choice by voting Sandy Onor with the strength of character akin to that of Caterpillar and Bulldozer, to clean the mess deposited on them. It is a fact that if any government is existentialized, the people would rejoice. So, as a philosopher of History, Sandy, with an existentialized spirit, passionate about the human condition, is poised to change the lives of Cross Riverians positively. It is germane therefore, to state unequivocally, that in a setting where personal accountability for decisions and actions made, seems to be fading in public opinion, and excuses seem to be replacing responsibility, Prof Sandy,is coming to liberate the oppressed people of the state who do not rely on fate or chance to guide them on the way of life, but on the Consciousness of in dividual existential situation. So,a vote for Sandy, is a vote to re-orientate, reposition, re-conscientize, sensitise, reawake, and re-energize Cross Riverians. These ingredients galvanize the individual Cross Riverians for a positive, worthwhile, and useful life for development, growth and progress of the state. In fact, Sandy Onor is a paradigm for an honest life of commitment to duty and human progress. Let us rise up as one body to ensure his victory on the election day, keep a date.

  • Now Is The Time To Focus On The Future Of Cross River State BY DOMINIC KIDZU

    Now Is The Time To Focus On The Future Of Cross River State BY DOMINIC KIDZU

    NOW IS THE TIME TO FOCUS ON THE FUTURE OF CROSS RIVER STATE

    Now that we have gotten over the emotional part of elections and have arguably lost some and won some, the time is ripe for us all to focus more objectively on the future of our state and less on our party, our brother, our friend. For any man who sets up a big company and decides to hand it over to his brother or club mate rather than to an experienced and capable manager will surely find his company in ruination and distress in the end.

    Luckily for us, we are only about to wake up from about eight years of agnatic kinship style of governance and the tyranny of cousins, with the elite deck magically restacked in less than a decade through exclusive patronage by the sovereign and the stuffed turtles hidden beneath the vinear of loyalty. The people have suffered greatly under the Egyptian captivity and the time has now come for their inexorable liberation.

    And now that it looks like Grigori Rasputin is set to leave the Winter Palace in Leningrad, the search for the new occupant must be deliberate and dispassionate, to find the right man for the job of clearing out the closet
    and cleaning up the Augean stable. These are truly uncertain days during which the citizens will hold their breath for two weeks, afrighted by the ghost of Banquo and the squamish feeling of de javu, uncertain still about the certainty of their own redemption or a darker, impending season ahead. As Achebe puts it so succinctly, ‘it is morning yet on creation day’.

    Unfortunately, politics is too divisive and self interest propelled to allow for clear-headed thinking and decision making even on a consequential subject matter such as this one. Having handed over our collective destiny and patrimony to different manner of leaders over the past twenty-three years, it should be concerning to us as a people and as a state who becomes Governor from May 29, 2023. The sheer weight of this period invites us to think deeply and make a dispassionate decision for our dear state and for ourselves.

    We don’t need a continuation of the nightmare of the last eight years in any guise or form. We don’t need a sectional leader whose allegiance will be to his tribe because it is their turn. Their turn to do what? Their turn to chop? That is not what we need as a state at this time. We don’t need the reign of Obudu mafia to be replaced by the reign of the Efik mafia. We need a Governor for all the people whose claim to the exalted office is based on his own self conviction that he is capable and ready to offer the best of himself in service for the good of all the people.

    Cross River State and it’s people have suffered enough, endured enough and sacrificed enough. We cannot afford to make another mistake. Right now we have gone down so deep that we need an elevator to bring us up to the ground floor. We can no longer allow sentiments, rather than our heads to determine our choices because eight years from May 2023 can be a long walk in the scorching sand of the Kalahari desert, when we could so easily have chosen the short road to the brook and the glory of our land.

    Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Dominic Kidzu, and does not represent TheLumineNews or its staff

  • Back To South Or Back To Odukpani: Sandy Onor To The Rescue BY ELIJAH UGANI

    Back To South Or Back To Odukpani: Sandy Onor To The Rescue BY ELIJAH UGANI

    BACK TO SOUTH OR BACK TO ODUKPANI?

    As the quest for redemption of Cross River State from the shackles of maladministration continue to gain momentum with just a few days to the governorship election, where a few persons including Gov Ben Ayade, are gunning for the BACK TO SOUTH agenda, it is imperative to note that, ab initio, while adopting Sen Bassey Otu as governorship candidate and handing the Senate ticket to Asuquo Ekpenyong Jr, was ill- conceived.

    While majority of those from southern senatorial district, continue to query the rationale behind handing over both the governorship and senatorial tickets of the All Progressive Congress APC, to same local government council, Odukpani, it is more worrisome to note that with the outcome of the national assembly election last week, where the house of representatives for Calabar/Municipality federal constituency, and southern senatorial district seat were both won by two Odukpani sons, Akiba and Asuquo Ekpenyong Jr.

    Although those holding the view that the Member-Elect of the Calabar Municipal/Odukpani federal constituency is a member of Labour Party, it is important to note that it was a miscalculation to have foisted both the governorship and senatorial candidates on the APC from the same local government.

    The question that remains unanswered on the lips of the electorates is how will Odukpani local government area hold the House of representatives position, senate and governorship positions at the same time?

    Political pundits, supporters/members of the Obidient Movements, and some members of the APC, have recently expressed displeasure with the permutations of governor Ben Ayade, and called on the electorates to cast their votes wisely during the governorship election.

    To concentrate very sensitive positions in one local government area, seems to undermine the competencies of very seasoned and competent capacities to return the fortunes of the state to its lost glory.

    Sen Sandy Onor, has been around the state for many years, he understudied the administrations of both Gov Donald Duke and Sen Liyel Imoke, when Cross River State used to be positively discussed globally and will deploy the experience acquired over the years to reposition our state.

    Maybe it was the will of the Almighty, to cause voters to cast their votes in favor of Akiba and Asuquo Ekpenyong Jr, from same local government area, to expose and situate our thinking in this direction to enable us support the cause of Sen Sandy Onor to reclaim Cross River State.

    Sandy Onor is the man with the needed capacities, he understands how local government system functions, having served as Chairman of Etung Local Government Area, State Chairman of ALGON, National Vice President of ALGON and later Acting National President of ALGON. He also served as Chairman, Local Government Service Commission.

  • Thoroughbred Stallion Of The Stables: A Tribute To Senator Professor Sandy Ojang Onor @ 57 BY DAVE IMBUA

    Thoroughbred Stallion Of The Stables: A Tribute To Senator Professor Sandy Ojang Onor @ 57 BY DAVE IMBUA

     

    It was day 14, second month, in the year 1966. Historians tell us that Nigeria was going through agonizing crises which prompted the massive acquisition of weapons by both the Federal Government and the Government of Eastern region. The hostility that was rapidly heading towards a war was brought about by such factors as the national census controversy of 1962, the general election crisis of 1964, the Western Region election of 1965, the January 1966 coup d’état and the belief by the Northerners that it was a calculated plot by the Igbos to annihilate their political fathers, the introduction of Decree 34 by Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi’s regime, the July 1966 coup and the pogroms perpetrated against the Southerners, especially the Igbos in the North. Because of all this, life in Nigeria had become extremely difficult and uncertain. In the midst of the drums of war throbbing across Nigeria, especially in the Eastern Region, a devout woman, Deaconess (Mrs.) Cecilia Ikwo Onor, was being urged to do some painful pushing at the Holy Family Joint Hospital in Ikom. She pushed so hard to the satisfaction of the nurses and, before long, a prodigy later to become one of Africa’s authoritative historians, courageous politician and astute administrator was crying out the night. The stars were beaming into light. At dawn, the news of his birth which spread quickly across forests and rivers threw Nsofang community into great ecstasy and jubilation. Ntufam Samuel Ojang Onor was hailed throughout the length and breadth of his community and beyond for proving himself a man. Being addressed as father for the first time gave him a sense of fulfilment in an environment where marriage was first and foremost for procreation. Ntufam Samuel Onor’s family was the first “stable” in which the child was cradled. Senator Professor Sandy Onor has repeatedly paid deserving tributes to his mother who, as commandant of the cradle, ingrained in him the virtues that have come to define his phenomenal life.

    At a very tender age in 1971, he was enrolled at St Martin’s Primary School, Ikom, to receive formal education. This was the second stable, which continued at St. Francis Primary School, Obubra, to where he transferred in 1973. This was the institution that armed him with the First School Leaving Certificate. Beginning from the age of ten in 1976, St. Brendan’s College, Iyamoyong, Obubra, affectionately “mothered” him till 1981, when he sat for and passed the West African School Certificate Examination in flying colours. Teachers at Saint Brendan’s College were awe-inspiring and their broad minds and tall intellects contributed tremendously in cultivating and moulding Sandy Onor into an urbane personality. Fame was already enveloping Sandy Onor at St. Brendan. The period from 1983 to 1987 saw Sandy Onor breaking and setting new records in the Department of History at the University of Calabar. In a special symbiotic way, History was making Sandy, and Sandy was making History. At the University of Calabar, his brilliance made him a source of pride to his teachers and mentors who knew ahead of time that he was going to graduate top of his class and would ultimately become a hair-splitting analytical historian. Immediately after the completion of the compulsory National Youth Service Corps, Sandy Onor enrolled for an M.A. programme. Just barely a year into the programme, he was advanced to the Ph.D programme on account of his outstanding performance and aptitude for independent research. The expertise with which he chiselled out the rocks of history enabled him to produce a thesis that is still standing tall among the best theses produced by the History Department at the University of Calabar till the present. The final product more than justified the huge resources he expended in crisscrossing the Ejagham universe in Nigeria and Cameroon in search of materials.

    From out of the crucible of training institutions, the racehorse was now on the starting line for further races. From the outset, Sandy Onor was determined to justify the exceptional confidence of his teachers, students, relatives, friends, well-wishers and the general public. This was the beginning of stable three. The determination not to disappoint anyone and the unceasing hunger to break records turned him into a modern day Jabez. Poised to challenge some long-standing distortions in History, including those made by established authorities – both white and black –his coast had to be enlarged.

    From 1994, Sandy Onor became a publisher of seminal books. The publication of The Ejagham Nation in the Cross River Region of Nigeria was well-received and highly celebrated. At the time of its publication, the history of the Ejagham was all but terra incognita. We can extrapolate from Professor Onwuka Njoku’s recent assertion that: “There is no exaggeration in stating that few students and even scholars of Nigerian history can locate in a map of Nigeria the homeland of the Ejagham. Fewer still have even a nodding acquaintance with their history” to imagine what the situation would have been before Sandy Onor launched his pioneering research efforts on the Ejagham past. His researches and publications were not restricted to the Ejagham; he studied, researched and corrected distortions on the history of other ethnic groups in the Cross River region. As a young scholar, Sandy Onor took on Adiele Afigbo by challenging his faulty view on the Igbo origin of the Efik. Sandy said without mincing words that “Afigbo’s claim is … either a figment of his imagination or an attempt to create a theoretical basis for Igbo domination over the peoples of the Cross River region.” Being a respected doyen of Nigerian History, Professor Afigbo was surprised at the courage with which a young historian whom they had just awarded a Ph.D visited him with the sledge hammer of historical criticism. Afigbo wrote that “… Dr. S. Ojang Onor descended on us like the Hounds Baskerville and accused me of virtually starting a process of Igbo takeover of the Efik.” As a scholar who knows his onions, Sandy Onor was not intimidated into silence by Afigbo’s credentials and fame. He unapologetically stuck to the evidence and this has made his scholarship to stand the test of time. By the year 2019 when the University of Calabar promoted him to the rank of professor, Sandy Onor had become the author and editor of nine books, several book chapters and journal publications spread across reputable local and foreign journals. This list does not include the public lectures, keynote addresses and conference papers he has presented at several fora. The University of Calabar provided a platform for him to prove his worth as an erudite scholar.

    From early in his career, Sandy Onor has been opposed to the idea of the insular scholar, who is isolated from the public and works in a world of his own. At various times, he has answered the call for public service and this is the fourth stable. In politics and public service, he met and interacted with several people and the experiences from those interactions positioned him as a catalyst for the development of his community, Local Government, State as well as Country towards which he has exhibited uncommon and unstinted patriotism. He had served as the Executive Chairman of Etung Local Government Council; Chairman, Cross River State Local Government Service Commission; Commissioner for the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment. He tasted Nigerian challenges of national integration in a Political Reform Conference where he made significant contributions. In these positions and many others, Sandy’s noble deeds have become ossified. He remains one of the few tested politicians in our country that are difficult to indict by anti-graft agencies. Typical of a goldfish which has no hiding place, Sandy Onor quickly made headlines when he arrived the National Assembly as Senator for Cross River Central Senatorial District. His electrifying eloquence and robust contributions on the floor of the Nigerian Senate confirmed him as a square peg in a square hole in the hallowed chamber. The President of the 9th Senate, His Excellency, Dr Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, GCON was so enamored of Sandy’s rare qualities that he could not help crowning him the Orator of the 9th Assembly of the Nigerian Senate despite such obvious limitations as the two of them belonging with different political parties and Sandy being a first-time senator. Sandy Onor still has much to offer Cross River State and Nigeria; he has indeed proven to be the first among equals in leadership and administration. Interestingly, the vast majority of Cross Riverians believe that he is the right man to clear the garbage heap of refuse and mediocrity that have taken over the veins and arteries of Cross River State.

    Beyond his appreciation of the various agents of socialization that have profited his fortunes, Sandy Onor recognizes the role of the church in his upbringing. This is the fifth stable to which he has remained faithful despite his towering achievements in politics, administration and scholarship. As a way of giving back to an institution that played an important role in his character formation, Sandy Onor has been an instrument of great honour in the House of God. He has helped countless individuals, churches and communities to serve and worship God in a way that is befitting and acceptable to Him. His love for God and God’s people makes us appreciate some parables of the Bible better than what preachers and teachers do from the pulpit. In recognition of his commitment to Christianity in general and the Catholic Church, in particular, he was in May 2022 inducted into the Knight of Saint Gregory the Great by the Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis. He has continued to serve God even with greater devotion after that calling. He has all his life supported the building of churches in various communities. In the discharge of this responsibility, he recently completed a church building in his community, Nsofang. The tastefully finished and furnished edifice, which is in a class of its own, has continued to attract deserving commendations from several quarters. Sandy’s love for God and humanity suggest that His birth on Saint Valentine’s Day was more than a mere coincidence of natural events. God created him as a harbinger of true love and affection, universal virtues which the world continues to celebrate on the day of his birth. He has always provided succour to people in distress. He has left no one in doubt that he is not content with being rich; in fact, his greatest ambition is to build a community of wealthy people who will in turn provide succour to the needy and by so doing reduce the disparity between the haves and the have-nots. This is why he has continued to live modestly, providing ladders for others to climb into prosperity and wealth.

    Sandy Onor is married to a virtuous woman, the quintessential and indefatigable Ntunkae Barrister (Mrs.) Gertrude Manyo Onor, who has been a rock of stability and support to him. This is the last but not the least stable that we will highlight in this tribute that has already become longer than was expected. In a hundred ways, Gertrude has robustly given validity to the assertion that behind every successful man, there is a great woman. She has been a principal conductor of the orchestra of ideas that have blended to make Sandy Onor the colossus that he is. His success story would have been greatly lessened without Gertrude’s devotion to her roles as wife, helper, mother, friend, intercessor, confidant, and house keeper par excellence.

    Let me end where I should have begun. The Thoroughbred is a breed of English mares and Arab Stallions primed for racing. The Thoroughbred is a symbol of emergence from highest social statistics. When we contemplate a life like that of Sandy Onor at fifty-seven, we are essentially rotating the patterns of that life in its route from obscurity to fame and achievement. A careful look at the stables out of which Sandy Onor’s life has been shaped gives credence to the fact that nothing is impossible for a man who upholds the values of integrity, persistence and courage in the face of daunting challenges. It is therefore to the glory of God that a chapter that began in-between Nigeria’s most bloody coup d’états on the eve of a devastating civil war has captured the story of an astute administrator, a consummate researcher, an accomplished scholar and a celebrated legislator, whose vision, foresight, courage and achievements, present and generations will continue to harvest and savour. It is thus only most fitting that a child born in the first of the most trying moments in the history of Nigeria has now readied himself for an interventionist service and mission during the very next most trying moment in the history of the same country. In the end, it will be most auspicious for Sandy Onor to say, I came into the world; I saw crisis; I conquered the crisis. Let me end by wishing Senator Prof. Sandy Onor a thousand more seasons of fruiting and propagation of exemplary life, good state of health, great and encouraging returns for every of his effort. I pray that opportunities should continue to open for him so that he will continue to mentor and reshape the destinies of individuals and communities.

    Hurray! Distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Papal knight of the Catholic Church, Fellow of the Historical Society of Nigeria, a Worthy Ntufam of the Ejagham Nation, the Irunandu of Africa, committed Cross Riverian, exemplary Patriot and Champion of good governance – you are thoroughly blessed, a Thoroughbred among great men.

    Dr Dave Imbua

  • Ugep People Will Remember Sen Sandy Onor For His Good Work – Obol Lopon

    Ugep People Will Remember Sen Sandy Onor For His Good Work – Obol Lopon

     

    The Obol Lopon of Ugep and Paramount Ruler of Yakurr Local Government Area, HRM Obol Ofem Ubana Eteng, has assured the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Governorship Candidate, Senator Prof Sandy Ojang Onor that his good works expressed through effective representation at the Senate will speak for him in his bid to become the next governor of Cross River State.

    The royal father who spoke while playing host to the PDP Cross River Central Campaign Committee currently on a ward to Ward tour within the Senatorial District, disclosed that Ugep people would always appreciate Senator Onor for renovating the Obol Lopon’s Palace to give it a befitting outlook.

    The royal father stated this on Friday, February 3rd, 2023 when the PDP Central Senatorial District Ward to Ward Campaign Team visited his palace at Ugep, Yakurr LGA of Cross River State.

    According to Obol Lopon, “When you arrive, I said, you are welcome to your home because two years ago, the Governorship Candidate of the PDP, Senator Prof Sandy Ojang Onor, listed this palace in the budget as constituency project without me begging him. Today, Ugep boost of a befitting palace courtesy of him.

    “I would never forget what Senator Sandy Onor did for me and Ugep people at large. Each time I’m in this house enjoying the comfort and fresh air, I remember Senator Sandy Onor. For him to have done this even without me begging proves that when God sends people to be our helpers we don’t need to beg them.

    “Since Senator Sandy Onor roofed this place every Ugep man that looks at the palace would ask me, how did you go about it, and I would say, Senator Sandy Onor did it for us. He did not discussed with me, he didn’t ask me before doing it. So, Ugep people can never forget Senator Sandy Onor. He has helped us to do the first thing. This is the first building in Ugep. When Ugep people decide to show appreciation, we would remember Senator Sandy Onor” he concluded.

    Speaking earlier, the Deputy Director-general, State Campaign Organisation and DG Caterpillar Movement, Chief Joe Obi Bisong, who represented the Governorship Candidate of the PDP, Senator Prof Sandy Ojang Onor said, “It’s traditional that we must stop over at the palace to pay homage and solicit your royal blessings first as Paramount Ruler of Yakurr, Obol Lopon of Ugep and custodian of the rich culture and custom of Ugep.

    “We have come to deliver the message of the PDP which you’re already aware; the PDP remains the only political party that can guarantee our democracy. The comparative advantages the PDP has attracted to us individually and collectively can’t be overemphasized. From where the PDP stopped, the APC had not added an inch. Rather, they have plagued and destroyed what the PDP left behind”

    Also speaking during the visit, the Senatorial Candidate, Rt Hon Bassey Eko Ewa lamented the desecration of traditional institution by the incumbent administration in the state when he said, “You’re the traditional head of Yakurr Local Government Area. This is the time we need you the most. Your advice matters a lot.

    “Let me use this privilege to thank you for the chief that represented you when we came for the Governorship Campaign. He spoke brilliantly and captured everything. I was shocked that our chiefs are being taxed by the present government for certification. It has never happened since the advent of the fourth republic. We have never experienced such sacrilege on our traditional institutions”.

    The campaign team earlier visited Idomi community as part of the Central PDP Ward to Ward Campaign for Yakurr LGA.

    CATERPILLAR MOVEMENT MEDIA

  • Full Text Of Press Conference By The Gubernatorial Candidate Of The PDP, Sen Prof Sandy Ojang Onor, At The NUJ Press Centre, Calabar

    Full Text Of Press Conference By The Gubernatorial Candidate Of The PDP, Sen Prof Sandy Ojang Onor, At The NUJ Press Centre, Calabar

    TEXT OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE GOVERNORSHIP CANDIDATE OF THE PDP, SENATOR(PROF)SANDY OJANG ONOR, AT THE NUJ PRESS CENTRE, CALABAR.

    Protocol

    Greetings to All.

    We bring you warm greetings from all the 18 local governments of this state, where my campaign team and I have visited since last week, to thank them in advance for the trust they have on us, ahead of the gubernatorial election which will hold in March.

    Even though I have gone round this state many times in the course of my work either as local government chairman, state chairman of ALGON, deputy national president of ALGON, chairman of the local government service commission and currently, the candidate of the PDP, my recent visit to the 18 local government areas have brought me closer to our traditional rulers, youths, women, religious leaders and a broad spectrum of stakeholders who are all unanimous in their disenchantment with the present APC administration in the state.

    This phase of the campaign tour which ended on January 25, 2023, was very revealing. For the first time, our fathers came out bold and courageous to cry out about their plight.

    From Obudu, the home of Prof Ben Ayade, the governor, to Bakassi, we all felt like weeping, as the traditional rulers and the masses spoke about the decay in our state.

    I must say that the experience has confirmed our worst fears about the gravity of neglect that our people have suffered in the hands of the APC government. We saw very terrible roads especially in the North, where Ayade comes from. Believe me, we are getting to the end of these sufferings and neglect.When we get into office on May 29 this year, we will, by the grace of the Almighty, change the narrative for good.

    Just after our campaign team peacefully left the North, Ayade led his party into that region and one of the comments we have heard so far from the governor is the allegation that the opposition is planning to import thugs and militants from other parts of the country, to terrorise the state during the general elections. We laughed as we heard this because we know it is exactly what Ayade is planning to do.

    The entire state is aware of how Ayade imported thugs and militants into the northern part of the state for the bye-election which held last year. Having realized that his party had woefully lost, he brought in a band of official and unofficial marauders who inflicted mayhem on the electoral officials and seized materials to enable them distort the figures and then submit same to INEC.

    We already know that he intends to repeat this deadly strategy. Unfortunately for him, the plot is dead on arrival as our people have been sufficiently conscientised to stand up for their rights, and to vote and ensure that their votes count.
    I want to place it on record that senator Ben Ayade’s unfounded alarm is a strategy to get the police to hound, harass, pursue and arrest our supporters who he intends, for obvious reasons, to keep out of circulation by throwing them into detention and remanding them until after the election.

    His thugs have already started being violent, destroying our billboards, harassing our supporters and causing havoc in the north; the same place we spent about four days campaigning peacefully. Ayade and his party are a violent people.

    Let me use this opportunity to once again call on our security agencies to sit up and remain neutral as we get close to the general elections. They must not allow themselves to be used to torment innocent citizens.

    One of us, Mr Peter Akpanke, the PDP candidate for the Obudu/Bekwara/Obanliku Federal Constituency election, is already being hounded by Ayade, with the tacit support of the police and the judiciary, with a mischievous bench warrant, over a murder charge that Akpanke knows nothing about.

    In fact, Akpanke had gone the extra mile to get the police to apprehend the suspect who killed the policeman in question and the suspect has since willingly cofessed to the crime.Yet, Ayade is still doing everything to force the police to harass our candidate because defeat now stares him in the face.

    In times like this, the police and the DSS should live up to their professional calling and maintain their non partisanship avowal, and do justice to this matter to avoid a breakdown of law and order. The police know the truth and should not allow themselves to be misled by Ayade.

    Rather than chase shadows, Ayade should take deliberate efforts to restitute for his sins against the people of Cross River State for about eight years now. He still has a few more months to do this. I urge him to get into his closet and do some self examination before the end of his disastrous tenure.

    The outgoing government has deceived our people enough. We have, for instance, spoken many times against moves by the governor to embark on last minute programmes and projects, including the plan to conduct a recruitment exercise into the state civil service in the twilight of this administration. At best, this is a voodoo exercise meant to curry favour from unsuspecting members of the public. It is one of the antics concocted by the present administration to buy the hearts of the people but unfortunately for them, our people are getting wiser. This exercise, if it holds, would end up laced intensely in nepotism, favouritism and sectionalism. It would be purely political and would not meet the genuine needs of the civil service. It is meant to rally troops for the 2023 elections and make the next government look bad by inflicting upon it a wage bill that is unpayable. The timing is wrong and the motive is completely mischievous and wicked, to say the least.

    Come to think of it, this government has not implemented any promotion since it came on board in 2015. Primary school teachers have not been promoted; there have been no incremental steps since 2016 and many primary school teachers are still being owed backlog of salaries. It is common knowledge that public primary schools in the state do not even have imprest; which is why the teachers use their money, and sometimes find ways of getting money from the pupils, to be able to buy lesson notes and even chalk.
    Indeed, it is armed with this knowledge that I felt so sad when I heard that the governor has approved immediate payment of scholarship to students of Cross River State origin. It is shocking how a government can set out to deliberately hoodwink its own people for purely political purposes and gains.

    As a major stakeholder in the Cross River project and by the grace of God, the next governor of our state, I wish to humbly assert that in as much as I know that our people need job opportunities in the state civil service, this one is deceitfully envisioned for political reasons. Recruitment exercises ought to be methodic, systematic and seen to be genuine; something that should be done in a gradual manner to allow the state and its people flow with it, based on the resources available. This one is coming with ulterior motives and is therefore unlikely to find the oxygen and legitimacy to stand the test of time.

    The second and very worrisome issue is the plan by the government to collect five years lease payment from quarries and some manufacturing companies that operate in the state. We are told that the government is reaching out to these companies to raise revenue from them five years in advance.
    This will not be in the interest of our state. While we agree that until May 28, 2023, the governor has the right to take decisions for the state, I dare say that if this is allowed, he would have mortgaged our state for the next five years. The plan is anti- people and against the common good of all Cross Riverians. We are using this opportunity to raise the red flag and to warn that we must not allow the plot to mortgage our future. The companies should be wise enough not to allow themselves to be hoodwinked by those who are trying to sell this dummy. This is a warning to the companies and it will be in their interest not to fall into the trap. The timing of this venture is very awkward and unreasonable. The companies are advised to be wiser.

    Let me also advise against the hurriedly planned sale of government property to government officials who are currently occupying those official residential quarters. Lovers of this state have kicked against this in the past and I want to add my voice at this time, to caution that the out-going government should not contemplate selling those government properties under whatever guise. These are properties that represent the face of the state. Please let them be.

    At this juncture, permit me to please make an appeal to the state government. Calabar was hitherto declared the cleanest state capital in Nigeria for many years. In fact, as commissioner for environment, I received several delegations from state governments, far and near; all of whom came to find out from us as a state, ways and means of keeping Calabar clean in particular and the state at large. Today, the reverse is the case. Our state is now known for mountains of refuse. We can truly, hardly breathe. The shame is becoming unbearable. Let the government please do everything to rid our state capital at least, of these heaps of dirt and disgrace. It is easy to deal with, and it is doable. We did it before and it can be done again and again.

    Let me also give some attention to the forest. The pristine tropical rainforest is one of our greatest gifts. Must we be completely denuded of this great gift with all its rich fauna and flora before this government goes? The effect of this ruthless brigandage on our forest is already upon us. How can our government be so callous on our people and posterity! Let the government stop its hypocrisy on this matter and end this modern slave trade. Money must not be made at all costs and in complete disregard to the well -being of our people and the future of our children. Enough of the madness. Let our forests be exploited sustainably so as to give our environment the much needed succour it deserves. Even timber dealers would have a more sustained and profitable trade if things are done right .

    Finally, let me touch on the recent controversy surrounding BIVAS machines in our state. We all are aware of reports indicating that the state government has some BIVAS machines in its possession. INEC has denied any connivance as its machines have not left their place of custody. Our worry is that in a recent press release, IPAC had maintained that it was not carried along when INEC and the security forces in the state moved in to confirm that no BIVAS machine was tempered with. Infact, IPAC insists that for some inexplicable reasons they were stopped from participating in that verification exercise. We cannot but be worried. We therefore call on INEC and the security agencies to allow IPAC certify the authenticity of their pronouncement on the BIVAS. This is critically important because confidence building is critical in election management, prior to, during and after the elections.

    Gentlemen of the press, I covet your continued support in the days ahead. I thank you for your kind attention.
    I am ready to take the darts that would come from the purveyors of lies from the other side and the attack dogs of government as well as their spiritually poor sympathisers. I am now ready to take some questions.

    Senator Sandy Onor
    Calabar
    Friday, January 27, 2023

  • Calabar Municipal Traditional Rulers Council Protests Locking Of Secretariat By Council Chairman

    Calabar Municipal Traditional Rulers Council Protests Locking Of Secretariat By Council Chairman

    By Elijah Ugani 

    The custodians of Calabar culture under the auspices of  Calabar Municipality Traditional Rulers Council, on Wednesday protested the locking of their Secretariat, located within the premises of the local government council by the Chairman of council, Mr Efefiong Eta.

    Speaking to journalists Infront of the traditional rulers council chambers, the Paramount ruler of Calabar Municipality, HRM Ita Etta, said his office was not communicated why their council hall was locked.

    The custodian of the traditions of Calabar Municipality, said Clan Heads, Village Heads and other members of the council were billed to meet with the Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, but discovered that their place of meetings was looked up, and wondered why such an action should be taken without regards to the traditional institution.

    The monarch revealed that they had got an invitation from the gubernatorial candidate of the People’s Democratic Party PDP, candidate, Sen Sandy Onor, inviting them for meeting at 2:00pm, at their secretariat.

    In his words, “We had received a notice from the PDP governorship candidate that he will meet with us (Traditional rulers) by 2pm in our Secretariat which is usually where we hold all our functions and activities.

    “As you can see yourself, the Secretariat is locked up and the Chairman didn’t tell us why and you can see soldiers everywhere.”

    When contacted, an authority in the council who pleaded anonymity said the Chairman of Council, Mr Efefiong Eta, gave an instruction this morning that the traditional rulers Secretariat should be locked up.

    He also gave a directive that no meeting of whatever kind should take place in the Secretariat.

    “I am working based on directive,” he stated

    Asked if there was issue with the Secretariat, he said, “There is no issue here, the traditional rulers met here this month of January.”

    The PDP governorship candidate has been campaigning round the 18 local government areas of the state, and is billed to conclude tour of the council areas with campaign in Calabar South and Calabar Municipality today Wednesday, January 25th 2023.

    As part of the campaign schedule to the council areas, he meets with the traditional rulers of each council, holds stakeholders meeting before the rally in the area.

    As at the time of filing this report, calls to the council chairman were not taken or retuned.