By Archibong Jeremiah
The Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) and the Cross River
State Government are at loggerheads over the legality of the endorsement of
Cross River Governor, Senator Ben Ayade for a second term in office by about 9
local government areas.
The Chairman of IPAC in Cross River State, Mr. Sunday Michael
condemned the public campaigns of some aspirants ahead of the 2019 general
elections as the electoral act clearly stipulates the time for such activities
while the Commissioner for information and orientation, Mrs. Rosemary Archibong
and the Special Adviser, Inter Party Affairs, Mr. Austin Ibok thought
otherwise.
The trio made their positions known on Sunday while as guests on ‘The Dialogue With Agba Jalingo’ a
topical issues program aired live every Sundays 6-7pm on Hit 95.9FM Calabar.
Mr. Michael argued that the display of a banners or posters
bearing the face of an aspirant was in contravention of the electoral act of
2010 as amended. He said that the Resident Electoral Commissioner had already
warned of the consequences of such, with IPAC out to ensure that everyone had a
level playing field.
However, Mrs. Archibong said that the endorsements came from a
group of people with no political associations, and when confronted with
different facts that stated otherwise by hosts Agba Jalingo and Jonathan Ugbal,
she insisted it was not staged managed and had no political undertone.
For Mr. Ibok, endorsements were in order even as he wondered why
there was a ruse over such activities given that same was happening elsewhere.
The IPAC Chairman condemned any form of endorsement by political
parties while Mrs. Archibong and Mr. Ibok also insisted that the events did not
affect governance despite three callers saying otherwise.
Watch video on CrossRiverWatch
TV
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