Sen. Bassey Otu, the Cross River Governor-Elect has extended hands of fellowship to other candidates, urging them to join him to build a new state.
Otu who won on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) said this when he spoke with journalists on Tuesday in Calabar while celebrating his victory at the poll.
“There is no winner or loser in this election, what we have is a victory for democracy, so, I extend a hand of fellowship to my brothers who ran for this position against me, let us build Cross River.
“This great state belongs to only one party and that is the people of Cross River, I urge you to work with me, let us build a new state.
“My government will have no place for champions who interpret life from a narrow prism of tribal sentiments, we shall be fair to all but will insist on the minimum standard of decency in our interface with the people,” he said.
Otu promised to operate an equitable, fair, compassionate and a listening government in which all shades of ideas would be given fair-hearing and a chance at success.
He lauded Gov. Ben Ayade for insisting on power rotation in the state in line with the principles of justice, equity and fairness.
He also appreciated members of the APC who worked for his victory, adding that his victory was not for just one political party or cultural zone in the state but for all.
“This is a victory of our humility because we have demonstrated that the ties that bind us is stronger than the artificial gum used by some people for their selfish reasons.
“This mandate is one that shows that our people have the keen sense of justice and when the chips wre down, we sacrificed all our differences to reaffirm our sense of justice,” he said.
Otu was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) after scoring 258,619 votes to beat his closest rival, Sen. Sandy Onor of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) who polled 179,636 votes in March 18 poll.(NAN)
