2022: Year to rebrand Cross River – Senator Onor, Says we can’t play politics with our devt

By Dapo Akinrefon

The lawmaker representing Cross River Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Sandy Onor has urged the people of Cross River State to be upbeat and work in unison for the birth of a new State.

The senator, who is a frontline aspirant for the governorship seat of the state, in his New Year message to the people of the state, said that he was anxiously waiting to see a new cross River where the state would regain its pride of place in all ramifications.

He said that it was necessary for every citizen and residents to take decisive and deliberate steps towards the project of rebranding Cross River.

He also disclosed that he has already consulted virtually all the 18 local government chapters of the PDP said civil servants, public servants, politicians, religious leaders and all stakeholders must turn a leaf as the state gets ready to witness a total turn-around.

The statement reads: “Fellow Cross Riverians, it is a bright new day. It is a brand new month and indeed a brand New Year. Today marks the beginning of our journey into the year 2022 and I am excited that together, we have seen the New Year in good health.

“I woke up this morning with some sense of exhilaration. Between last night when I slept and this morning when I woke up, what I have seen gives me some hope of better things to come.

“Last night, there was darkness and gloom. But as I woke up this morning, what I saw was sunshine, an indication that after despair comes hope. No wonder the Holy Bible says there may be sorrow in the night, but joy must show up in the morning.

“As I brood over events of yesteryears, I am persuaded to believe that despite what we may have gone through as a people, there is hope for our state. And that hope is rekindled by the fact that we are a people with shared commonalities and unique idiosyncrasies. We are a resilient people who are always ready to rummage through oddities and stay afloat in the midst of turbulence.

The year 2022 provides us the opportunity to begin the journey to our Eldorado.

“As citizens and residents, it behoves on you to make up your mind to stand up to be counted among those who will play a pivotal role as we march towards recovering all that we lost.

“This year, I enjoin you to gird your loins and be ready for a fresh start. This task will not and cannot be complete without you. We have a duty to jointly secure the future of our dear state.

“We must deliberately imbibe all the values that are capable of uniting us. Whether you are a student, civil servant, politician, public servant, religious leader or whatever else, make up your mind to shine the light in your little corner. This year, we have got to do things differently so that we can have different and more positive results.

“This year, let us pray as if our life depends on it and let us also work as if that is the only solution to our retrogression. All hands must be on deck to take back the lost glory of our state and it must start from this very first day of the first month of this New Year.

“We do not need to play politics with everything. We cannot play politics with the life and well-being of our people. We cannot play politics with our development. Yesterday has gone. This is a new day for us. Let us make up our mind to turn a new leaf and be involved in the rebirth of our state. I am a strong believer in the reality of a new Cross River, where civil servants will do their work consciously and conscientiously, where public servants will serve selflessly and with the interest of the state and its people at heart, where tourism will regain its pride of place, where Nigerians will want to come and live and be at rest. I believe in a new Cross River where the residents will always sleep with their two eyes closed. I believe that together, this year, we can chart a new course for our state so that in the coming years, we can all beat our chest and sing, not like those in a strange land, but like a people who have conquered their fears after winning a fierce battle.”