DAVID ODEY
The Cross River State Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Mr. Asu Okang, has taken a swipe at Senator John Owan Eno for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Eno formally defected on the floor of the Senate this week following months of speculations about the issue.
Okang blasted the Senator on Thursday in Calabar while addressing some journalists.
The commissioner, who hails from the Northern Senatorial Zone of Cross River State with Senator Eno, said the senator defected because of personal interest rather than in the interest of his constituents.
He said “Senator Owan Eno has held political office under the platform of the PDP for close to 20 years, right from the State House of Assembly to the House of Representatives and to the Senate.”
According to Okang, as political leader in the constituency, Eno had always advised constituents to see a governor as leader of the party in the state at all times and wondered why the Senator suddenly started working against Governor Ben Ayade.
The commissioner disclosed that in 2019, Governor Ayade would contest the governorship election, adding that the governor has at least 200 political appointees in each of the 18 local government areas of the state and expressed optimism that as foot soldiers, the political appointees would return Ayade again as governor come 2019.
He said that through the youth empowerment scheme, his ministry was touching lives positively, and praised Governor Ayade, describing him as simply outstanding and one of the best governors in the country.
Okang, however, lamented that Cross River quota at the national level is always filled by non indigenes, adding that a Cross River State Job Centre has been created to address that issue.
He further stated that in the area of sports development, much is being done to take the state to greater height.