As stakeholders in various states are getting ready for the next general elections and aspirants are setting up machineries, it’s not different in Cross Rivers State. For the politicians who are angling to occupy one elective post or the other, the question of who takes over from Governor Liyel Imoke is generating controversies and tension.
Those who are in tune with the way things are going on in the state will certainly have heard about one of the aspirants in PDP, Godwin Jeddy Agba, who many have tipped to be the man to beat during the election. This is because he’s believed to have many things that are working in his favour. Agba, apart from his popularity in the state, is said to also have to his advantage a great war chest and the influence of his father JD Agba, who is the Chairman, Council of Monarchs in the state and has ruled as the traditional ruler of Obudu for about 50 years.
According to a source, Jeddy Agba has secured the support of most traditional rulers, elders as well as meaningful number of party top shots in the state. His generosity with money is said to have played a great role in the support he enjoys across the state but information has it that this man who once worked as Manager, Sales and Marketing Department, Crude Oil Marketing Department of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, may have a hurdle to cross in securing the governorship ticket of PDP.
Sources revealed that Agba might have to contend with consequences of his alleged questioning over the missing 20 billion naira saga that rocked his department at NNPC, as well as resistance from the incumbent governor, Liyel Imoke, who is alleged to have favoured another aspirant in the state.
Although, PDP is said to have zoned the governorship slot to the Northern district of the state from where Agba hails, there are equally strong contenders for the ticket among who are the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Larry Odey, and Executive Secretary of National Planning Commission, Ugbo Ntufam Fidelis, to mention a few.