The dominance of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Cross River State may soon be put to test as many politicians plan mass exodus from the party.
THISDAY gathered that most of those who plan to leave the PDP are politicians who have been denied opportunities to aspire to political offices since 2003. Their move appears to be encouraged by the recent victory of Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) at the Court of Appeal.
Confirming the planned exit, a former aspirant to the chairmanship of Calabar Municipality, Mr. Hilliard Eta said he was among those planning to leave the PDP because of frustration. In a chat with newsmen in Calabar, Eta said there would be a mass exodus of politicians from the PDP especially in the Southern Senatorial District of the State.
He condemned the perception that there is no opposition in the State, stressing that the performance of the ACN and Labour Party (LP) in the last Local Government Elections in the State where they won some seats is a pointer that people are fed up with the antics of the PDP.
“After that exercise, I read in the pages of papers when a top individual in the PDP said there was no opposition in Cross River State. I thought that was begging the issue because before now PDP was able to win all the council wards in Cross River, but it wasn’t the same case in the last council elections So no matter how little it is, it is there”, he said.
Stating his frustration, Eta recalled that, “The party in power has always had a convention, even though not written that opposition should not exist, by its conduct and disposition, it has never welcomed opposition.
For some time now, we have had a situation where the PDP would have people elected into all the available offices in the leadership structure of the state. And it has created a culture of docility. Not only that, it has also created a very compact political space, such that if nothing is done about it, can engender violence and very anti-social activities”.
He also said, “I must say that personally, I did not come into politics so that I would be counted amongst the people of this era. I came so that the little that I have I can impact it positively and make my society a little better than I met it. If I cannot find actualization, vent and an opportunity to express these things that are very fundamental to my entrance to politics in PDP, then I must find it elsewhere.
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