Chuks Okocha traces the history and eventual defection of Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River to the All Progressives Congress
Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade. last week Thursday finally dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He formally declared for the ruling party at the Cross River State Executive Council Chamber, Governor’s Office in Calabar after a two-hour meeting with seven APC governors, led by the party’s interim Chairman and Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni.
The defection of the governor to the ruling APC was loaded with under currents that is clothed with compliance attitude on both the side of the governor and the PDP as a party.
A top source within the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP said that the Cross River State governor, Ben Ayade lost the control of the party structures in the state due to his complacent attitude to party issues.
The source said that it has always been the party policy that state governors control political party structures in their state, but said, “the governor was very complacent and members of the National Assembly in the state moved and took the party structures from him.
According to the source, ” it was after this slumber that he woke up and demanded that the NWC should intervene and restore the party structures to him
“He was the architect of himself missing out in the power structures to members of the National Assembly
” As a governor, he ought to have moved as a governor to take full charge of affairs in the state. He was like an emperor wining and dinning when members of National Assembly moved against him and took over the party from him”, the source told Thisday.
According to the source, it was because of this that Ayade asked the NWC to dissolve the party structures in state and set up a care taker committee in his favour, which the party refused.
But closely related to the compliasant theory is the economic issue. An economic advantage of returning some, if not all the 76 oil wells that were ceded to Akwa Ibom State by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration made. It was an irresistable offer.
Governor Ben Ayade had since 2019 sought return of the 76 oil wells ceded to Akwa Ibom State following the ruling of the Supreme Court in 2012.
The Cross River Chief Executive said the ceding of the oil-rich peninsula was illegal, maintaining that the loss of the oil wells was an “act of gross injustice.”
Ayade had alleged unconscionable injustices meted out to the state by the Federal Government, the governor regretted the takeover of Bakassi Peninsula by Cameroun and non-reimbursement of funds spent on federal roads.
This was one of the reason that Senator Ita Giwa has thrown her support for the defection. Mama Bakassi as she is called believes that the economic offer will help the economic development of the state. So, the defection was imminent as the APC led Federal Government wants to ensure a control of a state in the south south.
However, the party sensing danger that because the governor has lost control of the party structures in the state, deployed the Bauchi state governor, Bala Mohammed to mediate in the crisis in the Cross River State chapter of the party which has prompted speculations of the imminent exit of Governor Ben Ayade out of the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
THISDAY gathered that crisis started when all organs of the party in the state was taken away from him during the state, local governments and wards executive with the financial support of a south south governor.
As a result, the governor boycotted the South-south zonal congresses and the South-south governors meeting that took place in Port Harcourt.
But the governor, Ben Ayade attended the PDP Governors meeting where he opened up on the crisis and his intention to leave the party.
Immediately, the National Working Committee (NWC) led by Prince Uche. Secondus dispatched the Bauchi state Governor, Mohammed Balance to intervene and stop Governor Ayade from dumping the PDP for another party.
Receiving Mohammed in his office in Calabar, Governor Ayade boasted that under his watch that the PDP had scored the highest returns in elections and was as such not moved by the persisting crisis that has seen him at logger heads with a substantial proportion of party stakeholders.
Governor Ayade’s aides have also pointed at a South-south governor as sponsoring the rebellion against Ayade. The crisis in the PDP has seen the two tendencies in the party struggle over the Cross River North Senate seat.
But asserting his dominance in the PDP, Ayade said: “I cannot blind myself to the challenges of PDP and decide not to know what to do at the right time for their [Cross River people] sake.
“I know you are somebody that doesn’t take injustice. One single injustice they will see a new Cross River stat and I say it as a warning because it does appears that your party seems to celebrate people who threaten and stress them.” Ayade stated
Continuing, the governor said: “all councillors [in the state] are PDP, council chairmen are PDP, all House of Assembly members are PDP, all commissioners are PDP, and all the National Assembly members except one are PDP: all of them are under my leadership”
Asserting that the political stakeholders would follow him, Governor Ayade said:
“I am happy you have created an opportunity for a melodrama. So today I am seated and dancing on the fence. Indeed that’s true.
“And so I speak with righteous anger for the continuous annoyance and nuisance orchestrated on our innocent by external factors. But I just hope this ends today.
“And so please as I leave you with some holy whispers, which will be very strong, firm and clear, it’s a harbinger of trouble”
“While I believe in ecclesiastics of peace, I believe in the catechism of good faith but I also believe in respect for the supremacy of an office.
“So if you take a catalytic combination of all I have said, it tells you that there is the need for a guided caution and at some persons going forward as a people, as a party.
“I think the time has come when all of us will gather and say enough is enough,” Ayade said of the provocations he claimed were being made against the PDP in the state.
“I can’t afford to make a decision just for my sake. I am not desperate in putting a successor but I am desperate for their well-being.”
Speaking, Governor Mohammed on his part called for party unity as he praised Ayade for connecting to the people of the state.
“You are inexorably connected in terms of perception, vision and where we want to take the country together and because our forefathers have been together in this kind of thing, we are connected intellectually and politically.
“There must be structures put in place to make sure that the affairs and aspirations of all Nigerians, especially our leaders are reached,” he said
Threat By Elected Council Chairman
Noticing that the NWC of the party was not paying attention to their request to hand over the structures of the party to the 18 elected local governments chairmen and 196 councillors in Cross River State in March met with members of the party where they threatened the party with defection unless their conditions are met forthwith.
The Cross River State delegation of local government chairmen and councillors led by Hon. Emmanuel Effiong Bassey, Chairman Akpabuyo Local government council and Chairman of Cross Rivers State Local Government Chairmen in the petition handed over to the representative of the NWC at the meeting, Dr. Emmanuel Agbo, calling for an immediate conduct of a transparent state congress at all level in the state.
The centre of the crisis in the state was the last congresses in Cross River from wards, local governments, zonal and state congress.
It was gathered that the governor, Prof. Ben Ayade lost control of the structures in the state to members of the party at the National Assembly.
The loss of the structures at all levels by the governor led to a faction that sponsored Hon. Jarigbe Agoms Jarigbe winning the primary election against the faction loyal to the governor that produced Senator Steve Odeh
Senator Steve Odeh, it was gathered was sponsored by the governor to replace late Senator Rose Okoh who died last year.
The understanding, it was gathered is that Senator Steve Odeh will spend only one term as a senator to enable Governor Ayade return back to the senate, where he was in 2015.
But the calculation failed as Hon. Jarigbe, a serving member of the House of Representatives refused to accept the permutations that he should continue in the House.
At the primary, PDP returned Steve Odeh as the senatorial candidate, but Jarigbe rejected the out come and went to court and his appeal was upheld. The Supreme Court upheld the election of Jarigbe also the Senate is playing politics with his swearing in. INEC has also given Jarigbe certificate of election.
The threat of defection by the governor of Cross River State has been ongoing as he and his faction boycotted the zonal congress in Port Harcourt that elected Dan Orbih as the South-south vice chairman.
The governor also boycotted the PDP governors meeting that took place in Makurdi and Ibadan.
It was as a result of the threats of the governor to defect to the APC that the elected local government chairmen and councillors met with the representative of the NWC, the deputy national secretary Dr. Emmanuel Agbo to present their petition for a new congress that would confer respect to the governor as the leader of the party or they will join their governor in his defection moves.
Speaking with newsmen after their meeting, the chairman Calabar Municipal Council Effefiong Nta Eke,
said that they demanded for a fresh state congress where the structures would be under the control of the governor as in other states controlled by the PDP.
He said, “the governor is the leader of the party in the state. He should be given control of the party structures and this can only by done with fresh congress. We are demanding for a fresh congress. If not where the governor, Prof. Ben Ayade goes, we will go with him. He is the leader of the party in the state”
Further asked, “Will all of you join him, to go to APC”, they chorused, “Yes. He is our leader”
Also, the leader of the delegation, Hon. Emmanuel Effiong Bassey, Chairman Akpabuyo Local government council and Chairman of Cross Rivers State Local Government Chairmen Forum, said at the media briefing, “We are chairmen of the 18 local government council in Cross River State. We came to meet the national chairman and we have met him, and he was ably represented by the Deputy National Secretary in the person of Dr. Emmanuel Agbo.
“We came for the purpose of our state, the state of affair of the party in our state, we met him and we presented to him what we came with and he has honourably taken care of it and has assured us that he is going to make sure that what we presented to the party and what we came with, will be given immediate and urgent urgent attention.”
Asked what was the petition presented, he said, “You guys must have known that the state, congress has not been held, and we did ask that that it be done urgently. And he has assured us that that will be considered urgently”.
He explained that apart from the state congress, he said, “you actually know that any organization that is without the rule, may not succeed. And we have noticed as local government Chairmen executive chairmen that there are some of our members that have erred and we are asking that disciplinary measures should be taken so as to put the party in a proper shape”.
Speaking further, he said, “for God’s sake, Senator Prof. Ben Ayade is the party leader in Cross River State, he is the one that leads, just like every other governor in any PDP state. So, let’s give him his due respect. Let it be given to him. Whatever equation he must have taken, I think to a great extent it is for the goodness and betterment of the party.
“We have been one family, we will continue to be a family and a larger one for that matter. Cross River State PDP, is a family and we work like a family. Everybody is a family member of PDP, but, if the governor decides to leave as the leader of the party, we will go with him”, he said.
“Let me state here categorically that we are the pillars of the party in Cross River State, and these pillars were erected by Senator Prof. Ben Ayade, so, if he goes, we go with him.
“And you know what that means, we are in absolute support of the leadership of Senator Professor Ayade because of the very good things that he has been doing and will continue to do.”, he declared
Saraki’s Committee Wades In
As the defection talks become clearer, the NWC of the PDP dispatched the National Reconciliation and Strategy Committee headed by the former Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, to meet with the National Assembly caucus from Cross River State.
The objective of the meeting was to reconcile the National Assembly members, including other stakeholders, with the state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, who was already threatening to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
This was as the talks of defection became real. Moments after the notice of defection was served by the 18 council chairmen and 196 councilors, it was gathered that the NWC mandated the Saraki-led Reconciliation and Strategy Committee to wade into the matter and ensure proper reconciliation of issues raised.
Newsmen gathered that in line with this, Saraki and members of his team moved towards reconciling the factions in the state.
The PDP committee met at Saraki’s residence with all PDP members of the National Assembly to find an amicable resolution of the crisis.
The two contending members of the National Assembly, Senator Steve Odeh and Hon. Jarigbe Agrom Jarigbe, it was gathered, attended the meeting.
Jarigbe, a serving House of the Representatives member, is laying claims to the seat in the Senate which Odeh has already been sworn in.
Saraki said of the meeting, “The PDP Reconciliation and Strategy Committee met with the PDP National Assembly caucus from Cross River State. At the meeting, we listened to the concerns of the legislators, and discussed strategies to unite all the leaders and key stakeholders of our party in the state,” he stated.
Enter the PDP Governors Reconciliations
It was the height of these that the chairman of PDP governors forum. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal visited their Cross River State counterpart, Senator Ben Ayade following his threat to defect from the party.
The governors that visited were are Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State.
The governors who came on the auspices of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum, PDP-GF, held extensive discussions with their host who has been complaining of injustice in the PDP and threatened to decamp if not redressed.
After the discussion which lasted about two hours inside Government House, Calabar, Governor Tambuwal, who is also the Chairman of the PDP-GF told journalists that the “discussions were fruitful, peaceful and productive with the stakeholders of Cross River PDP
Tambuwal later said of the meeting, “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 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”
Tambuwal stated further that there were lots of concerns about how the congresses went 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,” the governor said.
He also said his team will take the report of the meeting to the Governors’ Forum and the NWC for examination, deliberation and action.
Why I defected
However, the governor gave a totally different reason why he defected to the APC. Speaking on why he was joining the APC, Ayade highlighted the character attributes of President Muhammadu Buhari and the realisation 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 as the main reasons for moving.
According to the governor, “having seen and known the president 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.
“I believe if everyone of us, as governors, joins hands with Mr. President, we can sit on the same dining table and fashion out a way to govern this country.”
Reactions…
APC and PDP members have reacted differently to Ayade’s defection. A national chairmanship aspirant of the APC, Saliu Mustapha has commended the decision of the governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade to defect to the APC, describing it as bold and courageous.
In a statement he signed, Saliu Mustapha said that Prof Ayade’s decision to join the progressive fold is bold and courageous as well as the right thing to do at this auspicious time in the life of the people of Cross Rivers State, and that of Nigeria.
According to the APC chieftain, “In the face of multifaceted national challanges as Nigeria is currently faced with, there should be a legitimate desire by all political actors to work together and chart a better path.
“Governor Ayade has taken the first right step, I hope others who are as conscientious and courageous will also follow suit.”
He explained that for Governor Ayade, the APC will be more than just a home as It is also going to be an ideological pathway.
He stated that the APC offers him a decent and ethical platform to drive development through politics, which the promise will begin to unfold in the days ahead.
According to the top APC national chairman aspirant, “Cross River State had been in the trenches for too long. It is about time things began to change for better. I am confident that our party will, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, support Governor Ayade in charting better ways forward for a greater Cross River State.”
Accordingly, he said, “I congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari for this feat, which is no doubt a loud testimony to the growing popularity of his government in spite of the tithing security challanges.:
In the same vein, he congratulated the national APC leadership of the party for this great feat, stating that posterity will be kind to them.
Also, the national vice chairman of the PDP for South-south. Dan Orbih has described it as a shame.
He said that it is a thing of shame for Governor Ben Ayade to identify himself with a party that has brought hardship and lamentations on Nigerians
Describing Ayade’s defection to the APC, as regrettable and unfortunate, Orbih said that it was high time that the National Assembly amend the constitution to set limits within which governors can defect from the party that brought them to power.
Reacting on defection, Orbih said,
“It (Ayade’s defection) is regrettable and unfortunate. How can you leave a party on whose platform you won the governorship for another that has unleashed hardship on millions of Nigerians,” Orbih questioned as he reflected on the difficulties in the land?
“It is time for lawmakers to come out clear on this. You can’t ride the platform of a party to success and turn around to take the mandate away to another party,” Orbih said as he chided Ayade on his defection to the APC.
“A law should come up to state clearly that if an elected leader is leaving the party on whose platform he was elected; he should relinquish the mandate. This will help sanitize our politics,” he said.
QUOTE 1
According to the APC chieftain, “In the face of multifaceted national challanges as Nigeria is currently faced with, there should be a legitimate desire by all political actors to work together and chart a better path. Governor Ayade has taken the first right step, I hope others who are as conscientious and courageous will also follow suit. He explained that for Governor Ayade, the APC will be more than just a home as It is also going to be an ideological pathway. He stated that the APC offers him a decent and ethical platform to drive development through politics, which the promise will begin to unfold in the days ahead
QUOTE 2
Ben Ayade is the party leader in Cross River State, he is the one that leads, just like every other governor in any PDP state. So, let’s give him his due respect. Let it be given to him. Whatever equation he must have taken, I think to a great extent it is for the goodness and betterment of the party. We have been one family, we will continue to be a family and a larger one for that matter. Cross River State PDP, is a family and we work like a family. Everybody is a family member of PDP, but, if the governor decides to leave as the leader of the party, we will go with him”, he said. Let me state here categorically that we are the pillars of the party in Cross River State, and these pillars were erected by Senator Prof. Ben Ayade, so, if he goes, we go with him
