A former lawmaker in the Calabar Municipality/Odukpani Federal Constituency of Cross River State, Nkoyo Toyo, has said it is dangerous for the Peoples Democratic Party to go into the 2023 general elections disunited.
According to her, it is foolhardy to prepare for the elections as an opposition and without the resources of the state at their disposal.
Toyo was, however, hopeful that at some material time, some wisdom or revelation will come to the PDP, such that they realise that it is more important that they unite and win the election.
She said, “We must remember that everyone, who comes into an election, comes to win and when push comes to shove, people will deal with the reality of what is before them.
“Today, access to power and all the instruments to power are in the hands of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and APC is competing against the PDP.
“To me, to put it mildly, it will be foolhardy to think we in PDP can face this election, firstly as an opposition; secondly, without the resources of Cross River State, and thirdly as a divided party.
“I think there is sense in which some candidates owe their success to Wike. I can name them, Jaribe in the North, Sandy Onor as governorship candidate, and, by extension, few other persons here in the South got their tickets courtesy of that arrangement. So, you do not expect them to get up and do whatever they like, as Wike has been the source of funding for them.
“In the absence of other funding sources that are dedicated to their elections, they have to be careful about which direction they take their anger and concerns to. So this so-called crisis we are dealing with is an artificial construct.
“If you watch the election campaign pattern, it has been quiet on the candidacy of the presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, while campaigning for Wike’s candidates.
“The hope is that, at some material time, some wisdom or revelation will come to everybody and make us realise that it is more important that we unite and win this election.”
