Making a fresh start     Eyo Ekpo

Fellow Cross Riverians, our great state is at a crossroads. I joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to further my quest to recover and restore our great state, securing my party ticket to contest for the governorship of Cross River. I am fully convinced of the need to make a fresh start, to wipe the slate clean, if we are to make
progress once again. Insanity is defined by Albert Einstein as doing the same thing over
and over and expecting different results, and this election is a test of the extent to which
we are able to break our old patterns.
I have decided to practice what I preach in the choice of my running mate. At all levels
of our politics, our women and young people are systematically excluded. They are
mobilisers, but are hardly ever given opportunities to lead unless they are related to
certain party bigwigs and selected through shady primaries. Many of the others are
confined to the realm of praise singers, bag carriers and online attack dogs, barking at
anyone who will criticise their benefactor.
As a result of this desire for a fresh start, my choice of running mate is Wofai Okoi
Ewa. If elected on this ticket, Wofai will be just 35 years old, and (one of) the youngest
deputy governor(s) in Nigeria’s history. However, what he brings to the table is more
than his youth.
Wofai is a Civil Engineer and Project manager with over a decade’s experiences across
a number of countries and industries. In my administration, he will play a key role in
ensuring that all public infrastructure projects – most of which will be PPPs – are
technically designed cost-effectively and executed without cost/budget overruns.
He will also play a leading role in conflict resolution – a noble endeavour in which he has
been passionately interested long before now – across the State, and bring peace to our
communities, especially those in the Central District where he hails from. He is also an
avid sportsman, being the Vice President of the Cross River State Taekwondo
Association.
In many ways, Wofai is the face of the Cross River that once was. He is also the face of
the future, the Cross River that we will have once again. His presence on this ticket is a
forerunner of Cross River State’s bright future, one in which the best we have to offer
take center stage in reclaiming and restoring our paradise, making it a positive example
to the rest of the country, and the world.

This announcement is our way of building on the progress made by the Not Too Young
To Run movement, in making political office more accessible to young people.
Nigerians aged 35 and under make up the majority of our population. Many of them are
very accomplished and passionate, but they have no voice in governance, and no seat
at the table. This needs to change and with your support it will surely change.

The SDP as a party has taken the lead in putting forward accomplished young Cross
Riverians for various offices in the state. Rather than pay lip service to young people as
leaders of tomorrow, we believe that they are ready to lead now. We are putting our
money where our mouth is.

It is my hope that as we move closer to election day, it will be clear to the electorate that
the SDP is a major and entirely credible departure from what currently obtains. We will
go everywhere in the North, Central and the South, to make our case to the people and
have them join our caravan of restoration.

 
May the Almighty bless us, and bless our beloved state.
Eyo Ekpo
Cross River State Gubernatorial Candidate

Social Democratic Party (SDP)