The adoption of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives
Congress in Cross River State, Senator John Owan- Enoh, by 15
governorship candidates and their political parties as consensus
candidate has been condemned by members of the Peoples Democratic Party
and other groups in the state.
While the PDP accused the APC of faking the adoption , the latter also claimed the former had paid a huge
amount to get a similar endorsement for the incumbent state governor,
Prof . Ben Ayade
Owan- Enoh was , last Tuesday , endorsed by
candidates of the KOWA Party, Alliance for Democracy , Mega Party and
Action Alliance and National Conscience Party, among others .
It was learnt that some money was given to the candidates with a promise to
form a government involving members of the alliance if elected .
But the Director – General of Owan-Enoh Campaign Organisation, Mr Maurice
Effiwatt , said no condition was given and that no money was paid to the
other party candidates .
This came a few months after Governor
Ben Ayade of Cross River State was similarly adopted by several groups ,
including the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the
Trade Union Congress .
Money was also reportedly given to the groups .
Reacting to the development , a former state Chairman of the PDP , Chief John
Okon, said the adoption of the state APC governorship candidate was a
non- issue .
Okon, who is also a member of the 2019 PDP election
campaign council, said , “ The so- called 15 political parties are no
parties . They only exist on paper. You know that there are only two
political parties in the state, the PDP and the APC . The Social
Democratic Party is just coming up.
“ The governorship election is just a two – horse race between Governor Ben Ayade and Senator Owan
Enoh. Those parties are not as serious as the PDP and the APC . Why are
they stepping down if they are relevant ? What they did was a political
gimmick to deceive people that they are relevant. ”
But the running mate to Owan-Enoh , Chief Ekpo Okon, said , “ These are people
who have been celebrating their procured endorsements . In our own case ,
people of conscience endorsed a credible candidate . We accepted
because the adoption came from the heart. ”
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