The elections may be two years away but for most politicians, it is not too early to begin preparations.
Apart from the struggle over Presidential and governorship tickets of the various political parties, the race to occupy the 360 seats in the House of Representatives and the 109 seats in the Senate is already generating a lot of interest.
This is even more so because an unprecedented number of state governors are serving out their second terms and are likely to show more than a passing interest in the race.
For example, the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio has made public his desire to retire to the Senate at the end of his second four-year term in 2015.
He will be contesting for the Peoples Democratic Party ticket for Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District against the incumbent Senator Aloysius Etuk.
A similar scenario is playing out in Benue and Niger States where Gabriel Suswam and Babangida Aliyu are also said to be warming up to contest the race for the Benue North-East and Niger East Senatorial seats respectively.It is not so clear if the Abia State governor, Theodore Orji, will be joining the fray as is being speculated in several quarters. He has continued to maintain stoic silence in the face of credible information that he may join the fray.
The situation in the Cross River central senatorial district, however, presents a slightly different scenario. The district is currently being represented by Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba who has risen to the position of Senate Leader.
Here, the race for the seat goes beyond mere jostling to replace Ndoma-Egba.
Although the state governor, Senator Liyel Imoke, has not shown any personal interest in running, there is no law stopping him from doing so should he decide to.
Speculations are however rife that in an event that he decides not to run, he may pave the way for his wife, Obioma. Should this happen, he will be repeating a precedent set by ex-governor Abdulkadir Kure of Niger State. It was Kure who in 2007, ensured that his wife, Zainab, not only got the Niger South senatorial ticket but also won the race.
Although the veracity of such a claim from Cross River is yet to be ascertained, there are omnibus signs of a simmering political tension between Ndoma-Egba and his bosom friend, Imoke, over the issue.
The relationship between the governor and the Senate Leader transcended this political dispensation as it dated back to the 1970s.
Having been members of the same political family for so long, it was believed that the two men would sustain that harmonious relationship beyond 2015.
As it is with politics, the situation on ground today points to a different direction. There is a political understanding that the northern part of the state should produce the next governor.
While supporters of both men are aware of this understanding, it was gathered that how to make this happen is the source of brewing tension between the two.
Political observers in the state argue that there is a plot to pick a political Lilliputian from the northern part of the state to pave the way for Mr. Gershom Bassey, who is considered Imoke’s preferred choice.
In the same breath, a sizeable number of the governor’s loyalists are demanding that Ndoma-Egba should be eased out since he would have served out his third term as Senator in 2015.
Those in this school of thought are said to be waiting for Ndoma-Egba to declare that he is no longer interested in the Senatorial race. Unfortunately, the Senate Leader has kept sealed lips about which senatorial district should produce Imoke’s successor.
The governor has, at several fora, affirmed that he has no more political ambition. Yet, his aides have consistently held meetings in Cross River central, under the aegis of Liyel Imoke Solidarity Movement, being led by his Political Adviser, Fred Osim.
One of such meetings held on October 27, at the Government Guest House in Ikom.
As if this is not enough trouble on its own, a member of the House of Representatives, Mr. John Owan-Enoh, who currently represents Etung-Obubra Federal Constituency, is reportedly interested in Ndoma-Egba’s job.
Owan-Enoh recently convened a stakeholders’ meeting of members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the Cross River Central District at the Jorany Hotel Calabar.
On the surface of it, the meeting was meant to provide an avenue for stakeholders to deliberate on the political future of the district after Imoke. In reality, however, the meeting seemed to be about the zoning of the Senatorial seat.
Those who were said to have attended the meeting included members representing Abi-Yakurr and Ikom-Boki federal constituencies in the House of Representatives, Mr. Bassey Ewah and Mr. Chris Eta, respectively. Bolaji Anani, the PDP’s National Finance Secretary and Alex Egbona, Imoke’s Chief of Staff, who are from the zone, were conspicuously absent.
A former Military Administrator of Kwara State, Col. Pam Ogar (retd), Special Adviser to Governor Imoke on Political Matters, Mr. Fred Osim, all PDP chapter chairmen, chairmen and vice-chairmen-elect and political appointees from the Central Senatorial district.
Ndoma-Egba, who, as things stand, is presently the highest ranking politician from the state at the federal level, was absent at the meeting.
Owan-Enoh explained that the gathering was to prepare the district toward positioning itself ahead of 2015.
He said, “This meeting is not called because we have any ambition. If we have, we will let you know in due course. “This meeting is called because as those who have responsibilities, we must position ourselves before our people ahead of 2015. The governor is from the Central Senatorial District, we owe it a duty to support his thoughts. It is therefore left for us to support and help him to succeed in the last two years of his tenure. The meeting is called so that we can work closely with the governor to ensure he picks a worthy successor.”
Perhaps, in a show of strength, after that meeting, another one was convened, this time by Ndoma-Egba’s supporters and over 4,000 party faithful thronged the venue.
It is instructive to note that Ndoma-Egba was absent at both meetings. His non-attendance obviously generated a lot of interest among stakeholders who are not privy to the brewing political tension within the once vibrant political family which Imoke and Ndoma-Egba belonged to.
Ewah tried to explain away Ndoma-Egba’s absence from the first stakeholders’ meeting. In response to reporters’ inquiries on the subject, he said, “…for Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, he got our invitation too. It is possible too, as I was told, that the meeting coincided with the first anniversary of the death of his father. I am sure that is why he was not here.”
However, findings revealed that the meeting was actually initiated by Governor Imoke who is also from the zone.
It was learnt that the meeting was actually convened to “cut the Senate leader to size” in response to speculations that he unilaterally introduced a governorship aspirant from the northern senatorial district to President Goodluck Jonathan.
It was gathered that the alleged move did not go down well with Imoke. He is said to be so embittered that he has given serious thought to scuttling any move by the Senate leader to return in 2015. The Senate Leader on his part denied ever introducing any aspirant to the President.
He said, “First of all Mr. President is alive. We have quite a number of Cross River people close to him. All you need to do is to ask Mr. President if I, Victor Ndoma-Egba, have brought anybody to him and he will tell you no such thing ever happened.
“It is those fictions that they find very convenient to peddle. The president would tell you no such thing happened.”
In what appears to be a rebuttal of earlier claims that he received an invitation to the stakeholders’ forum, Ndoma-Egba said, “Politicians are free to meet; in fact politics is about meetings. So, it is something legitimate and it is something consistent with politics.
“If I am not invited, it simply means I am not critical to their own plans and I accept that.
“If you say it is a meeting of leaders or stakeholders and, I as Senator representing the central senatorial district, I as Senate Leader, a member of the national caucus, a member of the national executive committee of the party, a member of the state caucus of the party and I am not invited, it cannot be something related to PDP.”
Whichever way the pendulum swings, the succession battle in Cross River State promises to be an interesting one.
Intrigues as succession crisis rocks Cross River
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