Donald Duke, a former governor of Cross River, says he feels sorry for the state’s next governor, stating that such an individual would be faced with an uphill task of reinventing governance in the state.

He made the remarks at the inauguration of the 1,080-member campaign council of the charter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Calabar on Saturday.

“I am worried about development in the state, a whole generation had been lost,” Mr Duke said.

The former governor, who had been saddled with leading the campaign council, noted that the essence of good governance had been lost in the state in the last eight years.

“I never bargained to be governor of the state, but was driven by passion and commitment to positively change the fortune of the state when I eventually became one,” Mr Duke said.

According to Mr Duke, where his team envisioned the state to be by now was different from where it was.

“We know where the state ought to be by now. The plan was that we would have been governing the state without relying on federal allocation by now. The plans were all laid out.

“Whole paradise had been lost. This is certainly not the best of time to govern Cross River State,” he said.

Mr Duke, however, said he was hopeful that the PDP governorship candidate, Sandy Onor, has what it takes to restore the state’s lost glory.

He stressed that Mr Onor’s past experiences in government had adequately prepared him for the uphill task of reinventing the state.

“I am glad that it is Sandy that will bring back the state that we have lost. I can stake for him because I know who he is,” he stated.

In his remarks, Mr Onor said the state had lost direction, as everything about the state had been abused and debased.

Earlier in his address, the state party chairman, Venatius Ikem, called for the support of all party faithful, irrespective of their present status.

(NAN)