… as Otu declares for Senate
The member representing Odukpani State Constituency in the Cross River State House of Assembly, Mr Bassey Akiba, has dumped the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Akiba becomes the second state lawmaker to defect from the PDP to the APC in the 25-man House.
This was as the immediate past Senator of the Southern Senatorial District, Prince Bassey Otu, in an elaborate ceremony in Calabar declared his intention to go back to the upper house of the National Assembly on the platform of the APC.
Speaking at the occasion, Akiba said his decision to defect was so that he could join Otu, if he wins back the Senatorial seat, “reposition the district and also sustain and expand the dividends of democracy, which the local government and the state have so far benefitted from the Federal Government.”
Akiba, who represents the Otu’s local government area in the House of Assembly, said President Muhammadu Buhari has been magnanimous to Cross River in terms of projects and appointments, despite not getting a lot of votes in 2015 from the state, and called for more support in 2019.
Declaring his intention for the Senate, Otu said, “My legislative priorities remain the same to strive for ecological balance in our environment and empowerment of human capacity in our district to meet with contemporary challenges, building of an egalitarian society, where both the rich and the poor can live in harmony.
“If we fix all our challenges, adversities, defeats, frustrations and letdowns in a bottle and shake it very well and pour out all the contents, what will likely emerge is a psyche of a people denied their voice, bullied by political aggressors, mired in poverty, condemned by complacency and less informed about their rights to justice, liberty and prosperity.
“I trust your coming is to reaffirm that old sweet confidence we share that the sweet Prince will be there for you in sweetness and sorrow. I see in your eyes the burning desire to attack all deceits and hold on to the truth that you are everything democracy and everything democracy is you. I have come to awaken you to your rights to determine your fate with your votes.”
