Mr. Tanko Ashang,  a lawyer who worked as legal adviser in several government agencies including and presidential committees recently stepped down from the civil service to pursue the gubernatorial ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in his native Cross River State. Ashang, who is from Obanlikwu Local Government Area in the Northern Senatorial District in this interview reviews the field of candidates and the process that would bring out the best candidate to succeed the outgoing governor, Senator Liyel Imoke.
Excerpts:

Emmanuel Una
Recently, Governor Imoke and some stakeholders at a meeting challenged stakeholders from the Northern Senatorial District to come out with the best candidate for the PDP gubernatorial contest in the primaries. What is your take on that?
I don’t think it is feasible at this point to come out with one person. What are the parameters to be used in selecting such a person? The Northern Senatorial District has people in various strata who are contesting for this job, so I would feel that naturally, it is fair to look at two to three persons and if that is not okay, the number can be expanded to make it five so that you can bring them together and re-examine them and if possible cut down the number and finally present them to the delegates in a primary election.

What is your strategy to ensure you are selected?
My strategy has been to reach out to the delegates. By virtue of the fact that the primary election is a delegate election, I have to reach every delegate and those in government who would vote for them to see reason for my candidature and what  that  means for the state in terms of development.  I have distributed my programme and many of these people have it in their hands and I believe they are studying it to see that I have demonstrated enough capacity for service.  I have been networking with the ward executives of the party,   the LGA chapters and at the state level. I am also calling on other aspirants to speak with them and for them to speak with one another not necessarily for them to step down for me but how those with similar vision can collapse their structures and work together. That is basically what I have been doing to ensure that whatever comes, I will emerge at the primary at the end of the day.

Do you consider yourself a family member because that is what the governor has been harping on that his successor will be a family member?
By all estimation, I am a PDP family member in the state. Now, many people misunderstand the concept of family membership.  First, every registered member of the PDP is a family member. Secondly, every member who has been financially viable is a family member and of course, there are senior members and junior family members. I cannot claim to be at the same level with those who brought the party in 1998, but I can claim that I have gained some seniority in the party because I joined the party almost seven years ago when Senator Liyel Imoke got nomination to run for governor and I found  a lot of confidence in his personality  and I decided to register with the party.

I have supported the party in all elections beginning from presidential, state, National Assembly and local government. In fact, at one time I chaired the fund raising dinner for chapter chairmen in the northern part of the state. Yet there is the  temptation to feel that only  those who are elected or appointed or those in the caucus are  the only family members and that is a big mistake. All of us who have family know that the fist son of the family is a son and the last son is also a son and more often than not,  it is not the first son who emerges; it is destiny because  it is  God who ordains leaders.

In any case, the PDP Constitution has provision for exemptions. So even if you join today and you have the quality and material to lead the state, exemption can be given you to run and emerge. Therefore, everybody who is as registered member of the party is in one way or the other a member of the family. Even at that the governor has not in any way exempted anybody from contesting especially financially viable members of the Party. He has said if you are registered and that can be taken to include every member of PDP – not a select few.

How do you think the three or five  aspirants for the primary election should be selected
For me, I think that it is important that we begin to narrow down now. If we are serious, the Executive Council members whether commissioners or  special advisers  who are interested  should sit down  and decide among themselves and pick one person who they consider worthy of leadership whether in terms of vision, integrity,  or passion for the state and also those in the legislature whether state assembly, National Assembly should also look among themselves and pick one person while those of us who have not served in the state as commissioners or in the assembly can zoom on one of us too and bring out one person.  Now naturally, these three persons who have great conviction, strength of character, integrity, courage , and youth on their side can be presented before the  enlarged Caucus  of the party and subsequently  to the delegates for primary election.  That way it will give the people the opportunity to make the right choice. This process will encourage people to support the leader because they are satisfied that the person leading them played a part in his emergence.