TheHILL. | POLITICS | May 20, 2021.
Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State, has revealed why he abandoned the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP); the political platform that gave him ticket to run for a seat in the Nigerian Senate in 2011 when he first stepped into politics.
Ayade, who is serving his second term as governor shortly after declaring for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Thursday, at the Cross River State Executive Council Chamber, Governor’s Office in Calabar, stated that the character attributes of President Muhammadu Buhari and the realization that Cross River, which has been emasculated economically following the ceding of its oil wells, needed to be in sync with the party at the centre, were the main reasons for his defection.
Hear him: “Having seen and known the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and his commitment to this country, his nationalistic disposition and all the efforts he has made to bring Nigeria to where we are today, it is obvious that at this point we needed to join hands with him to build a Nigeria that we can be proud of.
“We need all governors to recognize that it is not the party that matters. It is a character, it is an honour, it is a commitment to the vision of this great nation.
“We all need to as teamwork ahead of the president by working towards building a prosperous country that the succession worries of 2023 will come without the fears and the worries the international community has for us.
“I believe that if every one of us as governor joins hands with Mr President, I think we can sit on the same dining table and fashion out a way to govern this country.”
Speaking on the development, the APC interim chairman and governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, who led six other governors under the party to Government House in Calabar, said, he and his team were in the state to formally welcome Governor Ayade to the APC.
Buni said: “I am here on behalf of the APC family to welcome His Excellency the Executive Governor of Cross River State formally to the APC. As of today, he is the leader of the party in the state.”
Other APC governors who witnessed the event were Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Solomon Lalong of Plateau State, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu and his Jigawa State counterpart, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar.
Also present was the Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, the Deputy Governor of Cross River State; Prof Ivara Esu, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Eteng Williams Jones and members of the State House of Assembly.
Also, some National Assembly members, members of the Cross River State Executive Council members, local government chairmen, councillors and some stakeholders, including Dame Princess Florence Ita-Giwa and High Chief Asuquo Ekpenyong amongst others.
