Ayade says PDP is dead in C’River as bigwigs, thousands of supporters defect to APC

From Judex Okoro, Calabar

Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River has stated that the caliber of defectors and thousands of their supporters from PDP to APC have proven that PDP is dead in the state.

 

Speaking while officially receiving some some PDP chieftains nd thousands of their supporters who defected to APC, Ayade maitiantend that since he quit PDP in May the party has been haemorrhaging.

 

Some of the prominebt defectors include Arch Bassey Ndem, former commissioner for Lands, Rt Hon Orok Duke, former deputy speaker State Hoise of Assembly, Edem Ekong, Esq, a former Commissioner for Lands ànd thousands of their supporters.

 

The Governor said he has the moral obligation to ensure that Cross Riverians do not remain there, adding “anybody who wants us to remain in opposition does not wish us well.

 

“We have socketed to the centre and APC has come to stay in Cross River. Our state is better off with the APC.

 

“When I turned my back and look at Cross River from Obanliku to Bakassi, I wonder where the opposition is coming from. PDP in Cross River is finished, it is now an empty shell, APC is in total control.

 

“The array of political juggernauts joining us in APC today were the men who made PDP thick. Today, they have joined us in APC, so where is the PDP in Cross River? The party is dead.

 

“It is against this background that I will keep to my words. 2023 is a harbinger of peace, equity and justice so that every one of us will have a sense of equity and sense of balance to maintain and sustain our politics. This will enable everybody to know his turn at every given time,” the governor said.

 

Speaking after receiving the symbol of the party, which is the broom, Bassey Ndem said he joined the APC for equity and integrity “because His Excellency, at several fora, stood on the principle of rotation and by rotation, he simply means turn by turn.

 

“And I trust that from everything I have seen so far, the governor will continue to uphold the ethics which has made the Southern Senatorial district stand by him even in his moment of greatest trial.”

 

He called on the people of southern senatorial district to support Ayade’s administration to enable the governor finish strong.