Ex-Governor Donald Duke, on Monday in Obanliku, near Calabar, bemoaned the deplorable state of the Obudu Cattle Ranch.

Mr Duke, however, said the time for restoration was near and urged the people not to lose hope.

The former governor said this while addressing traditional rulers in the area during the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship campaign.

He noted that the people needed a public-spirited person to restore their hope, adding that the PDP governorship candidate, Sandy Onor, was a public-spirited person who had all it would take to restore the lost hope.

“To hold a public office, you must be a public-spirited person. Sandy is a public-spirited person, and that is what we need at this stage in our dear state. So much have been lost in the last couple of years. He knows the politics of the state,” said Mr Duke. “He is not a stranger. We have seen the result of a stranger. We need someone who can give us hope that today will be better than yesterday. Sandy is here to restore hope of the people.”

Mr Onor promised that his government would adopt a bottom-top approach in governing Cross River. 

While urging them to bring back the PDP to the seat of power in the state, the governorship candidate noted that the party had the experience and the people to right the wrongs of the present administration in Cross River.

“We won’t determine what you want but will sit and listen to your problems and see how we will tackle them within the available resources of the state. My experience as a former council chairman, former commissioner and now a legislator has prepared me enough for the mantle of leadership of Cross River,” added Mr Onor.

(NAN)