26 January 2017
PRESS RELEASE BY YOUNG DEMOCRATIC PARTY, YDP ON THE MURDER OF MR. DAVID AGAMA ESSE AT CULTURAL CENTRE, CALABAR AND THE SECURITY CHALLENGIES IN CROSS RIVER STATE.
Gentlemen of the Press;
Citizens and residents of Cross River State.
Greetings!
For the past fortnight, precisely from the 15th of January, 2017 up to this moment, at about 1100 to 1300 GMT where an illustrious and peace loving Cross Riverian from Yala Local Government Area, in person of late Mr. David Agama Esse was gruesomely murdered by unknown assailants right in the precinct of the security apparatus in his residence at Cultural Centre; it has ceased from raining from the sky, rather, it drizzles from our eyes.
Until his death, he was the Chief Technical Officer in the Department of Culture and Heritage, Culture Centre and the father of our (YDP) amiable State Organizing Secretary, Mr. Joe Esse.
The entire members of our great party, YDP condemn in its fullness this horrendous acts of metropolitan extremism. It is barbaric, repugnant, acrimoniously pugnacious, callous and devilish.
We hereby commiserate with the deceased family and extend the assurances of our earnest sympathy to them and pray the Almighty God to grant them the resilience to bear this irreplaceable loss.
Also, we urge the government of Cross River State and its coercive apparatuses to bring to book those culpable of this dastardly,atrocious and rustic crime. Furthermore, we call on the personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, Atakpa station to eschew from their inordinate and extortionate escapade from the bereaved family and focus on their statutory duty of investigating and bringing to justice perpetrators of crimes.
THE LEVEL OF INSECURITY IN THE STATE: WHO SHOULD BE BLAMED?
Agreeable to the established traditions of the Young Democratic Party, YDP ideology, we do not indulge in political darts throwing. But in our usual characteristic, we sincerely recognized clearly the enormousness of the responsibilities reposed on this administration of Prof. Ben Ayade in governing the people pursuant to civic and democratic tenets.
We are not ignorant of the fact that Ayade-led government is trying in its little aptitude to pay the debt of her campaign promises. However, what we are yet to grasp is the direct proportionality of the administrative excellence and managerial charisma as well as the strength to match-up with the associated responsibilities. We are uninformed of the fact that security is everybody’s business. Yes, we do. We understand that the duties are grave; but there is no room for excuses.
For a number of occasions now, we had deliberately declined to conjoined forces with some arrays of political parties; civil society groups and other pressure groups to unleash an onslaughts in any forms whatsoever against this government whether needful or not, because we would not want to nosedive the leadership of the state into distraction.
Nevertheless, in abysmal disquiet, having given her the lee-way and corresponding supports, we have noticed that this government is yet to build on the foundation of synergy built by YDP. Henceforth, we shall no longer tolerate the ineptitude, maladministration, malfeasance and eccentricity of this government. We shall not condone misappropriation and embezzlement of state and local government funds. We shall ask questions and answers must be given by any means necessary under the purview of the law.Questions such as bailout funds and the host of others.
Recall that sometime last year, there was palpable tension in the state due to the nefarious acts of ruffians and from the team of rampaging goons believed by a plethora of political pundits to be politically sponsored in order to create a state of Hobbesian anarchy in Calabar metropolis where rabble-rousers blooms. It was handled with child’s gloves. Rather, the governor was perambulating in military paraphernalia in the similitude of carnival across major streets in Calabar.
In recent times, we have seen communal clashes here and there in the state. In some cases, the government was not proactive in wading into the fracas. While in one particular scenario, the government was arbitrarily abetting one community over the other. A case study of the bang between Kutia, Ukpe and the Ukwortung clans in Obudu LGA.
It is a trite that any government that is bereft of idea and ability to guarantee the harmonious coexistence and maximum security of lives and properties is not fit to be entrusted with the peoples’ mandate.
OUR RESOLVE
Once again, at a time such as this, we call on the family of the deceased to remain calm. We encourage all warring communities in the state to embrace peace. We sympathize with citizens and strangers whose properties have been ravaged in all the clashes. We call on the Atakpa police officers to stop demanding money from the victims of crime before doing their jobs.
More so, we call on the governor of Cross River State to expedite action in restoring peace in all villages where fighting is ongoing or better still abdicate his position as governor.
We appreciate all the security officers carrying out their jobs legitimately and those members of the public preaching and doing peace.
May God grant the political leader of our dear state the knowledge, understanding and wisdom to pilot the affairs of the state.
Thanks and God bless you.
YDP! The light has come!
Signed
Comr. Ogar, Emmanuel Oko
Publicity Secretary, YDP, Cross River State Chapter.
