Asuquo Cletus Felix | 2nd November 2022
A stalwart of the People's Democratic Party in Cross River State, Victor Bassey, who is the Chapter Chairman of the Party in Abi Local Government, has said that Cross River State is still a PDP state till the outcome of the 2023 general elections.
Victor Bassey who featured as a guest on Political Round Table, a program organized by The Daily News, said All Progressives Congress has never won any governorship election in the State, insisting the ticket and mandate governor Ayade holds, belongs to the PDP, which he ran away with to APC and as such APC shouldn't think they own Cross River State.
Bassey also said that although the incumbent Governor, Sir Ben Ayade defected to the All Progressive Congress (APC) sometime last year, he still sees him as a member of the PDP because he still holds the PDP mandate of 2019 elections. Bassey opined that the 2023 general election will give the state a direction. Stating that Until Ayade and APC win elections, then APC cannot brag about owning Cross River State.
"APC doesn't have the right to call the PDP an opposition party until elections are conducted and won. For now, we are still in charge of Cross River State, the PDP is still in charge. Ayade left with our ticket and mandate, we cannot say PDP is opposition until the Governor can produce a successor in APC, which we all know is not possible". He said.
The grassroots politician argued that his Party had since 1999 faired well in various sectors of the state until the defection of the governor to APC where no party member can call him to order whenever he derails. He said in the PDP there are party faithfuls and technocrats ready to give guidance and genuine bits of advice to the governor. But in APC, the governor seems to be the only cock that crows and as such he is likely to derail off the tract without caution.
Recall that on March 20th, 2021 Governor Ben Ayade defected from the People's Democratic Party to the APC. According to inside sources, his reasons for defecting are not unconnected to the fact that Governor Ben Ayade was not respected by the hierarchy of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but the governor had said during his sections that he was socketing the state to the centre for the benefit of the state.
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