10 May 2018
For some watchers of political events over last weekend, they were unfortunate. To some, they were amusing and even regrettable. Some even found them embarrassing. Our opponents in the PDP mocked and mocked. They seemingly enjoyed our discomfort.
That's not deep enough. I think our opponents should be worried.
The APC they saw over the weekend is not the APC of 2015. It's a new APC fully militant and ready to engage opponents in any election, authority or not. When we drove with materials from Danic Hotel at Ekorinin to Barracks Road secretariat, arguably over 100 vehicles were in that convoy! Our parking took space almost to the UJ Esuene stadium. From the looks of onlookers, I don't think many believe that was an opposition Party in CRS.
The lessons that we must be vigilant about our rights and persistent in pursuing them when there is a semblance of cheating that culminated in the appointment of a new Congress committee should not be lost. Yes, we are getting near there.
Defeating an incumbent will require all the vigilance we can muster in the months ahead less than 12 actually… We must, despite all challenges face up to the reality that we have a common agenda to vote out PDP.
To achieve it we must perform this dry run even it is on ourselves. We have a federal govt and her institutions that we look up to for legitimate support in being vigilant. The police did well in refusing to release Congress materials despite pressures from the powers that be. INEC did well in refusing to endorse reports of congresses that did not hold despite entreaties by a certain Engineer from Obudu on behalf of his friends in high places. I do not expect any of them to support us, but we must understand that they will listen if we have a genuine and credible complain. Ours is to remain vigilant at all times.
On the whole the winning spirit seems alight and I believe we can march on now, confident that our opponents have no hiding place again. Not in security, not in INEC, not in superior mobilisation. Not even in militancy because they have lost quite some militants and are losing even more by the day. For those not yet sure of our preparedness, last weekend was confirmation. We are leading a vanguard of change!
Hon Venatius Ikem
Is an APC Chieftain in Cross River state
