Speaker of the Cross River House of Assembly, Larry Odey, says he will contest the 2015 governorship election under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, if he scales through the party primaries.

Odey, who represents Yala Constituency, made this known on Tuesday in Calabar at an interactive forum with newsmen.

According to him, the PDP caucus in the state has unanimously zoned the 2015 governorship slot to the Northern Senatorial District of the state and as an indigene of the area, he was qualified to contest the primaries.

“I had been the acting governor of the state for three months when the Appeal Court nullified the mandate of Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River in 2012.

Having been the acting governor, and currently serving as Speaker of the state House of Assembly, I have the capacity, experience and pedigree to govern the state,” Odey said.

The Speaker said his motivation for contesting was to promote education and economic development in the state, pledging to serve the people of Cross River with dignity, transparency, and accountability if he got the party’s nod and that of the electorate.

“Cross River is blessed with natural and human resources and with the support of all stakeholders; we can move the state to greater heights. The choice of the people matters most in politics, your opponents do not really matter. Anyone who thinks he has something good to offer the people can as well seek office by offering his or her self at the poll to seek for the mandate of the people,” he said.

Odey also pledged to maintain the level of security and sustain the peaceful nature of the state, adding that if security was guaranteed, investors would be attracted to invest in the state’s economy.