By Magnus Effiong
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Cross River State has inaugurated support groups across the State with a charge to urgently embark on sacrificial grassroots campaign so as to help the party reclaim power from the All Progressives Congress, APC, in 2023.
The Chairman of the party in the State, Barr Vena Ikem, who gave the charge in Calabar, Thursday, warned that forming support groups should not be for immediate monetary gains.
Speaking while inaugurating the groups, Ikem said:”Oftentimes, people mistake support groups as avenue to solicit for money but as support groups, your responsibility is to campaign from door to door in the villages, urban areas and everywhere for the party and calls for sacrifice.
“It is to mobilize resources and humans to ensure the party succeeds knowing fully well that the success of the party is your success.
“The party relies heavily on the support groups to do well in the elections especially at the grassroots level.
“You are our instrument to get more people to support and stand with the party. It is only after you have done this that you would have the justification to demand for something from the government you helped to install.”
In her goodwill message, the deputy governorship candidate of the party, Mrs Emana Duke-Amanwhe charged the support groups to be challenged by the level of suffering Nigerians were passing through which, she said, is inflicted by the APC-led government.
“Do the work first, sacrifice resources, time and energy and reward will come,” she said, but warned member against playing anti-party politics as 2023 elections draw closer.
“Anyone in PDP playing anti-party politics is wasting his or her time. I say so because the PDP is strong enough and determined to stop the rudderless direction the present government is taking us to,” the broadcaster-cum politician stated.
In his keynote presentation, a clergyman, Prof Aniefiok Akpabio, said godfatherism, lack of conscience and inability of political class to take posterity into consideration, were cankerworms eating up the fabrics of democracy and therefore charged politician to destroy the anomaly.
“While taking any decision, our political leaders should consuder the future, they should think about what they would be remembered for in twenty years time and consider the effects of such decision on the masses,” he stated.
He charged Nigerian political leaders to seek to win the heart of the masses since democracy is all about the people.
