The Speaker, Cross
River House of Assembly (CRHA), Mr Larry Odey, says he will contest the 2015 governorship election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party if he scales through the party, (PDP) primaries.
Odey (PDP, Yala State Constituency) made this known in Calabar at an interactive forum with newsmen.
According to him, the PDP caucus in the state has unanimously zoned the 2015 governorship slot to the Northern Senatorial District of the state.
He said that as an indigene from the north, he was qualified to contest the primaries.
“I had been the acting governor of the state for three months when the Appeal Court nullified the mandate of Gov. Liyel Imoke of Cross River in 2012.
“Having been the acting governor, and currently serving as Speaker of the state House of Assembly, I have the capacity, experience and pedigree to govern the state.
“I have been in the umbrella party (PDP) for a long time now, and at that level, I am not lacking any quality to contest the party primaries,’’he said.
The Speaker said that after a wider consultation, stakeholders in the PDP found him qualified for the race.
Odey said his motivation for the race was to promote education and economic development in the state.
He said he would serve the good people of Cross River with dignity, transparency, and accountability if given the mandate.
“Cross River is blessed with natural and human resources and with the support of all stakeholders; we can move the state to greater heights.
“The choice of the people matters most in politics, your opponents do not really matter. Anyone who thinks he has something good to offer the people can as well seek office by offering his or her self at the poll to seek for the mandate of the people,’’ he said.
He said that if elected governor in 2015 after winning his party’s ticket, he would create avenues to promote the standard of education and promote agriculture as the mainstay of the state’s economy, among others.
Odey also pledged to maintain the level of security and sustain the peaceful nature of the state, adding that if security was guaranteed, investors would be attracted to invest in the state’s economy.
It would be recalled that Gov. Imoke had said at different fora in 2012 and 2013 that he would work to support a candidate from Northern Senatorial District of the state to succeed him in 2015.
