By Frank Ulom
The Cross River State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Hon. Christopher Etta, has dismissed claims that the planned demolition of properties on the Cross River State State Water Board Limited (CRSWBL) land is a politically motivated attack on the opposition, revealing that 80 per cent of the affected structures belong to members of the ruling party.
Etta stated this during an interactive session with journalists in Calabar on Monday, cautioning the media against becoming an “echo chamber” for opposition figures who seek to politicise standard government regulations. He emphasised that the state government is not isolating any political group, but rather enforcing compliance based on administrative records.
“On the issue of demolition, I’m surprised that you are now turning into the echo chamber of the opposition,” Etta stated.
Adding, “Because if you are not, you would have realised that even APC members’ houses are also marked. Maybe one or two opposition houses are marked. But several APC members’ houses are marked. And from what was published, 80 per cent of those on that list are APC members.”
According to the party chairman, the crux of the issue revolves around statutory payments and compliance, rather than political witch-hunting. He urged journalists to investigate government records to ascertain how much each property owner owes instead of running with unverified claims from individuals trying to trigger public sympathy.
“The issue there is not about demolition. The issue is our standings,” Etta explained, adding that proper journalistic investigation would easily clarify whether the action “was purely political or it was government.”
Addressing separate allegations made by Sir Arthur Jarvis Archibong, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who accused the state government of using exorbitant taxes to stifle his private university, Etta challenged the institution to make its tax records public.
While acknowledging that tax sums can occasionally be contested, he noted that a transparent look at the books would likely debunk the claims of a deliberate shutdown attempt.
“If you ask him to show you his record, based on what he ought to pay, what he actually paid, and what he has to pay based on the summations, I’m sure that his theory will fall,” the APC Chairman said, urging the media to re-engage the university management for hard data.
Etta also took aim at a certain diaspora commentator identified as Portrait Peterson, labelling him a “busybody” who is completely disconnected from the realities on the ground in Cross River State.
“You cannot live abroad and know how the chairs in the house in another country are placed,” Etta retorted. “You live in London, and I have red chairs in my house, and you are telling the whole world that my chairs are blue. He is just mouthing what his paymasters want him to mouth.”
When questioned about the credibility of candidates emerging from party congresses, Etta defended the APC’s democratic boundaries, stating that the party lacks the constitutional power to disqualify citizens based on subjective metrics like eloquence or appearance. He warned that any attempt to aggressively screen candidates would be spun by the media as “muscling people from contesting elections.”
He gave a grim assessment of the current political environment, lamenting that “stomach infrastructure” – the immediate financial gratification of voters – still dictates electoral outcomes despite the party’s desire for deeper ideological engagement.
“Unfortunately, you and I are in an environment where the stomach determines who runs the election,” Etta said.
Adding, “During elections, people will follow who gives them more money. It is a case of the chicken and the groundnut seeds. Whoever drops the grain, that is the one the chickens will congregate around.”
