Kelvin Obambon|14 January 2019
The All Progressive Congress' governorship candidate in Cross River State for the 2019 poll, Senator John Owan-Enoh, has revealed that members of the state traditional rulers council who were recently given cars by governor Ben Ayade, have called to thanked him for being instrumental in the process leading to the development.
Owan-Enoh made this disclosure yesterday in Calabar while addressing a press conference to officially kick-start his gubernatorial campaigns ahead of the March 2019 poll.
According to the guber candidate, “somehow it does appear that whenever I run an election, it gets who I'm running against to suddenly remember there are things he supposed to have done. So, whatever good the person does, those who benefit get back to me, to thank me. They say that if I didn't come out to run, they won't have benefit what they benefitted.”
Meanwhile, Senator John Owan-Enoh has unveiled his campaign plans, as he said yesterday that the campaign train would hit the road on Monday the 14th of January, starting from the northern senatorial district, to central and then wrap it up in the southern senatorial district. The campaign which he said would be all inclusive, is to be anchored on the slogan: 'Better Days Are Possible Again'.
He said: “Our campaigns start from the north tomorrow (today), with visits to Obanliku, Obudu and then settle in Ogoja to run the campaign within the northern senatorial district. After there, we move to central and then the south. We'll be campaigning on the slogan: 'Better Days Are Possible Again'. That's the message we are taking to Cross Riverians. The nature of our campaign is to hold town hall meetings and interact with critical stakeholders. We want to carry everyone along.”
Speaking further, Senator Owan-Enoh stated that his campaign would send a message of hope across the nooks and corners of the state, assuring the people that, “if elected, the government we hope to put in place will return Cross River to those better days.”
While appealing that the state government should ensure free space for every political party to carry out their campaigns unimpeded and devoid of any form of thuggery or violence, Owan-Enoh described the incessant court litigations against his candidacy as 'unnecessary' and a distraction, even as he maintained that the state EXCO of APC does not have powers to submit list of candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, stating it is only the party at the national that has such powers.
“We'll like to appeal to the leadership of Cross River State – to the governor, to allow peace a chance and allow democracy to flourish. Everybody should have free space to campaign. If you have done well, there is no reason to have anxiety that someone else is coming to campaign. The campaign will go to every local government in Cross River.
Therefore my hope is that we will not be stopped at any point; there won't be any incident or mischievous plan to stop us from delivering our message to Cross Riverians. We are going to be civil as much as we can. Our hope is that the blood of Cross Riverians are not going to be shed or sacrifice in the course of the campaigns.
“We have had unnecessary litigations. The APC only recognized one result. It is not within the power of the state EXCO to submit any list of candidate. It is the power of the national office. The challenge that lies ahead of Cross River is bigger than the distraction. The people believe that the salvation and rescue of Cross River lies with us, the APC.”, he said.
Responding to question on the type of government he would run if elected, Owan-Enoh said he would run an open and all inclusive government whose programmes and policies would be shaped by inputs from consultations with everyone in the state. He however stressed that his government when put in place would be different from the family government currently run in the state.
“I will consult with people. I won't be a dictator. I will be civilian governor not a military one. My government will be collaborative. Everybody is important. Consulting with people doesn't make you a lesser governor. Listening to other people opinions and perspectives about what is okay doesn't mean you are no longer a governor. In fact, it makes you more governor. Inputs from consultations are critical to building Cross River of our dream. We won't run government as a family affairs. We won't do that.”, Owan-Enoh stressed.