By Emma Una

A coalition  in Ogoja wants  the Senate seat of Cross River North, which  it claimed  has not occupied the position since the inception of democracy in 1999, ceded to the district in 2019.

SENATE CHAMBER

The coalition,  comprising of market women, drivers, Okada riders, students , Mbube, Ishibori and Ekajuk youth groups, during a protest,  said the next senator should be from Ogoja Local Government Area and Comrade  Godwin Nyiam,  a youth activist,  was their  choice.

The protesters, bearing placards displaying various messages including, ‘ Since 1914,  Ogoja has never occupied the Senate Seat’ , ‘The time is now, Ogoja has the Senate position’ , ‘ We have been patient enough, this is Ogoja turn’ , ‘ We are not weak but patient, it is now our time’, sang songs around major streets in the area before moving to the St Thomas’s College Ogoja where they were addressed by their leaders.

The leaders  said  Nyiam had  proven to be a humble leader of the people over the years and it had  become necessary to elect him senator in 2019 to give Cross River North  effective representation.

They said all other local government areas had  occupied the seat but Ogoja had been marginalised.

“Democracy is all about fairness and justice and, to prove this, the people of the northern senatorial district should allocate the position to someone from Ogoja in 2019- what is fair is fair”, Mr Denis Itrem, the leader of the protesters, stated.