Cross River State Governor, Prof Ben Ayade has again assured that he has no plan to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that gave him wings to fly, stressing he remains a strong member of the party.
The governor also revealed that former governor Liyel Imoke and him “have perfected plans to enhance consummate victory for the party in the state”.
Ayade, fondly called the digital governor by his aides and teeming supporters stated this in a Facebook post on his wall in the early hours of Tuesday.
The governor, who is reacting to news making the rounds that he is planning to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), siting his closeness to President Muhammadu Buhari and an alleged cold war between his predecessor, Senator Liyel Imoke and him.
He said, his meeting with President Buhari is purely on governance and cooperation for the success of the country.
Also reacting to the rumoured defection plan by the governor last week, chief press secretary to the governor, Mr Christian Ita, in a statement debunked the story, describing it as fake.
The governor’s post reads, “I shall be disappointing some people by what I am about to say now. I am still a strong member of the People’s Democratic Party and I have no intention of defecting to any party.
“PDP gave me wings to fly as Governor of Cross River State. Therefore, I cannot afford to revisit the party with such gesture of ingratitude. Senator Liyel Imoke and I have perfected plans to enhance consummate victory for the party in the state.
“My constant interaction with the president stems from the fact that he is the president of a country where I head a subsidiary unit, and not the president of a party. Hence, we must cooperate with him for the success of our country.
After general election, politics, in the national scheme, must be relegated to the back burner, while governance must be enthroned. Therefore, the only national party after elections is Nigeria. The entire record of history is quite consistent with the assumption that any society with distended politics, cannot differentiate between politics and governance. Such society is likely to back-pedal.
“I cannot be at enmity with the president to proof some loyalty to my party; I must not be attacking the president because my party is at the opposition. Such tendencies are abhorrent to liberal democracy and must be avoided.”
By Ebriku John Friday
