By Ebriku John Friday
Yesterday’s senatorial primaries to pick the PDP candidate for the Cross River North Senatorial By-election has further shown the commitment of Governor Ben Ayade in ensuring the party maintain its dominance in the state. What he displayed yesterday, is simply the height of loyalty to the party as against the lies being peddled by falsehood merchants in some quarters. His presence at the primaries and full participation in the process in no small measure boosted the confidence of party faithfuls across the state, especially in the North where he hails from. This is leadership at its peak!
The governor, who have delivered and has shown that he is a strong PDP asset that should not be toyed with must be given all the necessary support that he would need to keep flying the flag of the party higher and higher. Governor Ayade needs to be given all the impetus he deserves as the leader of the party in the state and be allowed to take full charge so that PDP in the state will continue to wax stronger and stronger for more victories in the polls ahead.
Close political watchers have identified the unwarranted meddlesomeness of the River State Governor, Nyesom Wike in PDP affairs in Cross River State as unnecessary and biting more than he can chew and not good for the unity of the party in the South-South and nation at large. They have since admonished him to steer clear of Cross River State politics so that they can fully exercise their state independence as no state is annexed to another to avoid the already tensed political atmosphere in the state as a result. It should be recalled that Cross River State PDP had enjoyed absolute peace before the meddlesomeness of Gov. Wike through MP Jarigbe and few others.
The brazen act of thuggery and the resultant violence that was averted due to the heavy presence of security operatives at the primaries venue in Ogoja is a pointer to what should be expected if the party’s leadership in the state slides into wrong hands.
The widely acclaimed transparent, free and fair primaries that was conducted at the Ogoja Council Secretariate resulting in the emergence of Dr Stephen Odey as the winner with 450 votes and his closest rival, Rt Hon. Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe with 90 votes as announced by the Chairman/Returning Officer of the PDP Electoral Committee, Hon. Olorogun Taleb Tebithe, and supervised by the INEC representatives should not be allowed to be a matter of dispute or contention. Therefore that external hand bankrolling the internal rebellion with an alleged whooping N2 billion should be contained and stopped forthwith.
However, in no distant time when Dr Odey’s name is forwarded by the PDP NWC to INEC, this internal squabble would have been rested a great deal so that a united family can face the challenge ahead victoriously. For emphasis, it is noteworthy for the NWC to know that Cross River State is PDP today because of the party the governor of the state belongs.
The ball is obviously now in the court of the party’s NWC led by Prince Uche Secondus to tell the world whether it will hand over the state to a House of Representatives member who in an act of acute desperation walked out of the venue to stage directed a haphazard melodrama and had same aired on AIT to announce himself as the winner to the chagrin of all sane members of the public during the concluded senatorial primary or whether it will handover to the State Governor who has shown capacity in coasting the party to victory in the various elections, Presidential/NASS, Governorship/State House of Assembly and Local Government Council polls. And who indeed, will the NWC stand with?
Undoubtedly the governor has taken charge and is the man to stand with as far as the PDP in Cross River State is concerned.
