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From Fred Itua, Abuja
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River State, Ekpeyong Nsa, has urged former Governor Ben Ayade to look inward rather than blame Senator Godswill Akpabio and Governor Bassey Otu for his political misfortunes, saying the former governor’s challenges are largely of his own making.
Nsa, a public affairs analyst, made the assertion in a strongly worded statement in which he dissected the circumstances surrounding Ayade’s declining political fortunes, from his failed presidential primary bid in 2022 to his shock defeat in the 2023 senatorial election.
“There appears to be a growing need for clarity and reflection on those developments,” Nsa said, describing Ayade’s recent public comments about events before and during the 2022 APC presidential primary as concerning and in need of objective scrutiny.
Nsa recalled that Ayade had entered the 2022 APC presidential primary “despite limited political traction,” and had urged delegates to look beyond financially stronger candidates and support him on the basis of his intellectual capacity. That appeal, the chieftain noted bluntly, “did not align with the prevailing political realities of the primary,” which was ultimately won by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Beyond the primary itself, Nsa raised questions about how party and campaign resources in Cross River State were managed during that period, noting that “concerns were raised in some quarters about how party and campaign resources in the state were utilised,” contributing to internal disagreements and conflicting accounts of events within the party.
The consequences of those internal frictions, he argued, were visible in the 2023 presidential election, when Tinubu failed to secure victory in Cross River State despite winning nationally, an outcome widely viewed as a reflection of organisational and loyalty deficits within the state chapter at the time.
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Ayade’s own electoral fortunes fared no better. Contesting the Cross River North senatorial seat as a sitting governor, he was defeated by Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, a result Ekpeyong described as one that “reflected the mood of voters in Cross River North.”
Rather than accept personal responsibility for these setbacks, Nsa said, Ayade has chosen to lay blame at the feet of Akpabio, the Senate President, and Governor Otu, his successor in Government House, Calabar. That disposition, the APC chieftain argued, is both unproductive and unfair.
“This is not merely about influence or internal party dynamics, but about accountability and the lessons to be drawn from recent political experiences in Cross River State,” Nsa said.
He also came to the defence of Governor Otu, whom Ayade has reportedly criticised, describing the current governor as a leader who “has, within a relatively short period, begun to shape his own governance record.” Ayade, he advised, would do well to reconsider such criticisms.
Nsa’s statement, addressed to fellow APC members and framed as a contribution toward consolidating the party’s gains in Cross River State over the past three years, ended with a call for the kind of political maturity he believes the moment demands.
“Ultimately, the issues at hand point to the broader importance of reflection, responsibility, and constructive engagement in political leadership,” he said.
The statement is the latest indication of simmering tensions within the Cross River APC, where Ayade’s public commentary about his political trajectory has drawn responses from party members who believe the former governor has yet to fully reckon with his own role in his decline.
