C’River senator drops litigation after Tinubu’s intervention »

A former Senator who represented Cross River Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly, John Owan-Enoh, has declared ceasefire to the litigation he filed against the party’s governorship candidate in the State, Otu Bassey.

The development came one week after the public appeal made by the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, urging aggrieved members to settle their grievances out of court.

Owan-Enoh, a former chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, said the “hard decision” was taken after a series of consultations with his immediate family and supporters across the state.

The PUNCH reported that the former governorship aspirant of the APC lost to Senator Bassey Otu at the party primary in May.

Although he went to court, Owan-Enoh, however, lost the two cases at the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal.

Tinubu who waded into the dispute during his South South town hall meeting with stakeholders at the Cultural Centre in Calabar, Cross River State on December, 20, 2022, however, called on aggrieved members of the party to the stage shortly before the town hall meeting commenced.

“Mary Eta and I didn’t start today, we have been friends long ago. And Senator John Owan-Enoh, no matter what, you are bound to be disappointed as far as you are human but please, withdraw your lawsuits. Let us work together”, he said.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Owan-Enoh said the
public appeal by the APC presidential candidate “is such a humbling experience which I cannot ignore under any circumstance.”

He said although he had the option of proceeding to the Supreme Court after losing at the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal, the occasion of the Town Hall Meeting in Calabar at the instance of Tinubu had gone down as a watershed and turning point for him in seeking further redress in the matter.

Owan-Enoh said, “I have had cause to confer with my immediate family and consult widely with my teeming supporters across the State after that occasion.

“On this note therefore, I have taken the hard decision to put an end to the litigation and instead work for the success of the party.

“The decision I have taken is a pointer for us to achieve a common ground and the ultimate lesson is to remind us that beyond our individual ambitions, we are one people with a shared history and common political destiny.

“I believe the strength of any political party in a fledgling democracy like ours is shown most clearly through the difficulties it can overcome and disputes it can resolve.

“In honour and respect to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other well meaning leaders of our party, I have accepted to swallow the bitter pill and work in harmony with the party for its victory.

“I, therefore, use this medium to further appeal to my supporters as well as other aggrieved members of our party to understand with me, bury the hatchet and come together for the interest of our party, the APC We cannot afford to go into the next elections fragmented, factionalized and disunited. The timeless biblical injunction that ‘a house divided against itself cannot stand’ is quite instructive in the circumstance.

“I wish to call on the leadership of the party in the state to open a new page in the party based on this new development. On this new page, there should be unity, love, and justice to all. May we continue to invest faith in our party for a better tomorrow.”