Governors Pressurise Cross River Governor, Ayade To Remain In PDP

Governors has pressurised the Governor of Cross River State, Ayade to remain in PDP, The Nation report.

Governors Pressurise Cross River Governor, Ayade To Remain In PDP
Gov Ben Ayade

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors are mounting pressure on Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade to jettison the plan to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The PDP Governors’ Forum Chairman, Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal, led a delegation to Calabar, the state capital, yesterday to appeal to Ayade to stay in the party.

The delegation included Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and his Enugu State counterpart, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who held a two-hour meeting with the Cross River governor at the Government House.

Few months ago, Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi dumped the opposition party to the ruling party, citing differences with certain PDP gladiators.

Tambuwal told reporters that the meeting “was a fruitful, peaceful and productive.”

He said: “We’re here on the mandate of the PDP-GF, which was sanctioned by the National Working Committee (NWC), to come and engage with our dear brother and colleague, Prof. Ben Ayade, the governor of Cross River State, and the stakeholders of our party here in Cross River on the issues of the congresses held here in the state that became contentious.

“We’ve engaged with them and the feelers we have is that by the grace of God, we’ll soon resolve these issues and the party will bounce back as one.

“There were lots of concerns about how the congresses went about and every one of us is interested that we restore normalcy to ensure that the family is brought back together and work together for the common interest of Cross River State.”

Tambuwal said the report of the meeting will be submitted to the PDP Governors’ Forum and the NWC for examination, deliberation and action.

Ayade had vented his anger when he had an audience with Bauchi State Governor Bala Muhammad, who also visited him in Calabar less than two months ago. He complained about the injustices he was suffering from the national hierarchy as the leader of the party in the state.

Ayade said: “I cannot blind myself to the challenges of PDP and decide not to know what to do at the right time. I speak with righteous anger for the continuous annoyance and nuisance orchestrated on our innocent state by external factors. But, I just hope that this ends today”.

But, Ayade’s body language kept suggesting he may defect to the APC.

Two weeks ago, 18 local government chairmen and their councilors and some appointees of the governor held a rally in Calabar, announcing publicly that they were ready to “swim and sink with Ayade and will follow him wherever his goes.”

The State PDP had since been divided into two factions since last year’s ward and local government congresses.

Ayade’s faction was believed to have been outwitted by the faction backed by majority of the National Assembly members in the battle for the control of the grassroots party executives.

The situation has stalemated the state congress of the party as the National Assembly members’ faction are not ready to give up the victory they recorded at the ward and local government level, particularly because the list has been certified by a Supreme Court judgment, which they are brandishing.

After the meeting, three visiting governors were led by Ayade to the Industrial Park where they inspected the State Chicken Processing factory, Calachik, Cross River State Instant Noodles, branded KISIMIE Instant Noodles complex and the rice seeds and seedlings factory.

They expressed delight with the performance of their host who, despite the economic crunch, has done well, particularly in job creation and diversification of the economy.

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Eyo Nse is a creative writer, blogger and a software engineer.He is a simple individual who loves to see others succeed in life.Mr Wisdytech as he is popularly known - started blogging in the early 2000's.