By Ani Bassey, Calabar
Stakeholders of the Southern Senatorial District of Cross River State have insisted that the present zoning arrangement in the state be maintained.

The Southern Stakeholders’ demand came following its inaugural meeting in Calabar as the state braces for the 2023 gubernatorial elections.

Under the present zoning arrangement in the state, the Southern Senatorial District took the first shot with Donald Duke as governor from 1999- 2007.

This was followed by Senator Liyel Imoke from the Central Senatorial District from 2007 to 2015.

Imoke was succeeded by the current governor Ben Ayade from the Northern Senatorial District who assumed office in 2015 and is expected to leave in 2023.

While the state braces for the exit of the present administration, stakeholders from other districts have begun laying claims to the converted seat hence the decision of the south to call for the inaugural meeting.

The meeting which attracted renowned stakeholders from the district was co-convened Sen. Bassey Ewa Henshaw and Elder( Chief) Ogban Ebock.

In a ten-point communique issued at the end of the meeting, the stakeholders maintained that the present zoning arrangement is maintained for the sake of equity and fairness.

They called on other stakeholders in the Central and Northern Senatorial Zones of the State to work together with the south in this regard.

The communique read in part: “The Southern Senatorial District Stakeholders Forum also recognizes that since the advent of the Fourth Republic, a system of zoning of key political offices in Cross River State, particularly so, the Office of the Governor, has evolved and been established over time; and that the zoning system has produced in succession the last three Governors of Cross River State from each of the Senatorial Districts in this regard.

“The Forum insists that the existing zoning arrangement for the Office of the Governor of Cross River State and all other political offices be maintained; and by that arrangement, the Governorship of Cross River State in 2023 should be zoned the Southern Senatorial District.

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“The Forum, therefore, calls upon and urges fellow stakeholders from Central and Northern Senatorial Districts of Cross River State to join hands with us in the South to ensure that the above zoning arrangement continues uninterrupted so as to ensure equality and equity in Cross River State”, they demanded.

The Forum also deplored the present security situation in the country in general and the district in particular saying the district has been adversely affected.

They called in both the federal and state government to expedite action in addressing these issues and promised to offer useful advice when necessary to help address the security challenge.