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Judex Okoro, Calabar
Battle for the next Cross River State chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has continued to gather momentum as Governor Ben Ayade and National Assembly members have relocated to national secretariat to lobby for their preferred candidates.
While Ayade is backing the Director General of Due Process, Alphonsus Eba, for the party chairmanship election tentatively fixed for August 8, the National Assembly group is behind the former PDP national publicity secretary and two-time former commissioner, Venatus Ikem.
A source, close to the national leadership of the party, disclosed that Governor Ayade had stormed the Wadata House, Abuja, and engaged in an intensive lobbying for his preferred candidate and the possibility of upturning the authentic ward and local government executive committee list inaugurated on April 30, by notary public, Okimasi Ojong, as directed by National Working Committee (NWC).
The source said in some meetings between Ayade, his team and some party national officers, they told the governor that the party has nothing against him, but there is urgent need for him to liaise with relevant stakeholders to decide on what they want.
At some of the meetings, it was gathered that they made it clear to the governor that the party cannot impose any candidate or any officer on their members in Cross River as they are committed to enthroning a free and fair primaries across the country in line with internal democratic tenets.
It was also gathered that Ayade lobby team has met with some aggrieved members in Abuja, especially some National Assembly members, on the need to forge a common front in the pending state congress to avoid further litigation.
The National Assembly members, another source said, are equally not shifting ground as most of them are said not to trust Ayade’s last minute moves to install a party chairman as he reneged on their initial meeting before the ward and local government congresses.
Supporting Governor Ayade’s lobby move at national secretariat, the Southern senatorial district Coordinator of Cross River Youth Renaissance Assembly, Ette-Obong Asuquo, decried the subterranean plots by the National Assembly members to hijack the leadership of PDP in the state at all levels.
Asuquo, who is one of Ayade’s aides as a board member, accused some founding members and legislators of wanting to dictate who becomes the local government chairmen and councillors as well as who becomes the next party chairman after Ntufam Inok Edim tenure.
According to them, the legislators fighting Ayade would not have won their elections in 2019 if he did not bankroll their campaigns and other logistics.
