Leaders of Cross River State Youths under the auspices of the National Youth Council of Nigeria have called on the People's Democratic Party's governorship candidate, in the recently concluded gubernatorial elections, Sen. Sandy Onor and the People's Democratic Party to withdraw their petition before the election petition tribunal against governor Bassey Otu.
Speaking to newsmen recently in Calabar, State Chairman of the Council, Comrade Daniel Obo Jr insisted that the PDP and her candidate have no case to prove as Otu who overwhelmingly won the election holds the mandate of young people in Cross River State. Adding that the case before the tribunal lacks merit and has no substance as it is on record that the entire youths of the state in their numbers voted for Otu and will continually stand by him to the end.
What is he going to court for? He lost the election even in his village and Local Government Area, his deputy lost, and his campaign DG lost, so what is he going to tell the court, the only place he won was in Ikom, and that's because of the Igbo traders there who gave him support.
The youth leader also revealed that youths rallied around Sen. Otu and the APC because they were convinced that it was the turn of the South to produce the next governor and Otu was ripe and prepared for governance, so they gave him their mandate. He also made it known that the youths were more interested in the party that will bring on board a Governor from the South for the sake of equity justice and fairness to ensure there's sustainable peace and unity in the state likewise considering a younger person as Deputy Governor he stated.
"We supported Otu having been convinced after asking and answering some questions by ourselves. First, was it the turn of the South? Yes, it was! Secondly, were they people ripe enough from the South to be Governor? Yes! Thirdly, as young people should we not be interested in who governs us? We should! So if so, should we go the negative? No! So it was in the light that we were convinced. That we will only support any party that gives us a governor from the South and a young deputy governor that is one of us. And that if we support them, the person will win. We supported APC, we supported Prince Otu and he won." Obo informed.
Our expectations as Young people are high, but during his inauguration, he (Prince Otu) talked about powering the streets light, immediate evacuation of dirt, security of lives and properties and most importantly youth inclusion but with optimism, I can boldly tell you that Prince Otu will deliver
Obo said the youths of Cross River State have given their mandate to Otu and will not relent in their efforts in defending that mandate. He said although Sandy is a good product, the timing was wrong for him, as his aspiration was aimed at dividing the state while denying the state the peaceful coexistence it has enjoyed so far.
He called on the youths of Cross River State to support Prince Otu's administration and take it as their government
Obo also said, "Cross River State is safe with Prince Otu and may he succeed against all odds, yes we will support the government because we were part and parcel of those who said the government will come and the government.
Recounting activities that led to his defection during the electioneering period, Obo said his defection had nothing to do with offences but it's normal for politicians to look for platforms that will afford him the needed victory either as an individual or collectively.
"You know every politician's interest is to win, whether you are the one winning directly or indirectly. What is important is that you need to be sure that you are part of the winning. Taking a look at the circumstances that surrounded the 2023 elections, you will see that it was an election between the future and what we have today. And so young Cross Riverians were beginning to imagine where they will stand. And we already had a common enemy, which was those fighting the Back to South Agenda. For us, whether it was the SDP, the Labour or any other party, we already had a common party and that was the PDP that did not want to stabilise our politics as it were. We had no choice but to drop out of the race to achieve the goal of having a Southern Governor, which by God's grace we have finally gotten. So leaving the SDP was not because I was offended but it was out of principles for equity, justice and fairness and that's what it is." Obo informed.
