5th July, 2010
The Deputy Senate Leader, Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba, says there are no constitutional impediments against President Goodluck Jonathan if he decides to run for presidency in the 2011 general elections.
Ndoma-Egba, who represents Cross River Central Senatorial District in the Senate on PDP platform, made the clarification in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar.
He also described the emergence of Jonathan as divine in spite of the so-called zoning of the presidency in the PDP.
The senator said, “When they say zoning, zoning can be done in different kinds of ways.
“As human beings they may have one, which is still being debated. But God has done his own zoning. This is divine zoning.
“But let me say this, constitutionally, nothing stops President Goodluck Jonathan from running.
“And it will be historically and politically awkward that an incumbent president is unable to run. It will be an oddity.’’
He lauded the contributions of Cross River, including the hosting of the training camp for repentant militants, to the national cohesion and said that such contributions should not be taken for granted.
Ndoma-Egba said: “The state has been called upon again and again to make very extreme sacrifices for this country.
“Of all the states in the South-South, I think we are the ones that escaped militancy and it was not by accident.
“It was by deliberate policy and planning and a lot of that. Now, a state with no experience of militancy is expected to do this. It is a sacrifice we are making again for this country.
“ But I think the country has not been fair to us. Bakassi as you know was taken away. We shouted and shouted, but they took away Bakassi.
“After that, the oil wells that belonged to Cross River by virtue of the fact that Bakassi was in Cross River were lost. Bakassi left to Cameroon, the oil wells moved to the opposite direction.
“ Now, we have been left with the humanitarian problems of the people of Bakassi, with little or no support.’’
The lawmaker also appealed to the Federal Government to ensure that there was no undue stress on the state due to the hosting of the repentant militants camp in Obubra, Cross River.
He said, “This time around the Federal Government should acknowledge the sacrifice we are being asked to make again and not take the state for granted.