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Tag: Ayade

  • I joined APC to help Buhari fight insecurity, reduce tension in Nigeria – Ayade

    I joined APC to help Buhari fight insecurity, reduce tension in Nigeria – Ayade

    Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has shield more light on his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The governor explained that his desire to assist President Muhammadu Buhari deal with the challenges facing the country contributed to his defection to the party.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that Ayade moved to the APC from the PDP on Thursday after months of speculations but explained, however, that he had no issue with his former party.

    “As to whether there are issues in the PDP, no. The party stood by me all through the way,” the governor said in a monitored interview on Channels Television.

    “In any other legal issue that I have had, PDP had stood with me. PDP gave me the opportunity to be a senator; PDP gave me the opportunity to be governor. I would never have any time to pull down PDP. I have integrity, character, and honour. My politics have ethics. My decision to join APC is to join the President to reduce the tension in the country.”

    The governor also called on citizens to rally around President Buhari to help him combat the multidimensional issues facing the country which he says make him unhappy.

    “I feel depressed when the nation is challenged with security issues,” he noted. “Instead of us rising as an orgasmic whole to see how we can support the President to deal with these foreign herders that are colonising our various roads and farms, we rather sit back; we tend to create an impression as if the government is not doing well.”

    The Cross River leader also hinted that some governors on the platform of the PDP will soon join the ruling party, denying claims he defected to the APC because he suffered a huge loss at the recent PDP congress held in his state.

    “I am happy to announce to you that very soon, more governors are joining (the APC) because what we want to achieve is a country where we all can sit with the President and agree on our succession process, we don’t have to fight,” Ayade explained, but did not mention the governors.

    The former lawmaker also expressed joy over his defection to the ruling party, noting that his cabinet and other persons will soon move from the PDP.

    “All the chairmen of the local governments, almost all the House of Assembly members, most of the National Assembly members, my entire commissioners and cabinet today,” he added. “That is the amount of the political structure … in Cross River State, once the governor moves, everybody moves.”

  • Defection: PDP ‘wishes Ayade well’, sends message to members in Cross River

    Defection: PDP ‘wishes Ayade well’, sends message to members in Cross River

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked its members in Cross River to remain steadfast, committed and united to the party.

    The statement comes after the state governor, Ben Ayade defected from the PDP to the APC.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that Governor Ayade announced his decision on Thursday morning after a closed-door meeting with six APC governors and some members of the National Assembly who visited him at the Government House.

    The PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary Kola Ologbondiyan called on stakeholders to ensure the party structure remains intact.

    “Our party calls on all critical stakeholders and teeming members of our party in Cross Rivers State to immediately pull together and ensure that every structure of our party in the state remains intact.

    “The PDP wishes Governor Ayade well in his new political sojourn as well as in his future endeavours”.

  • Defection: South South APC bigwigs; Keyamo, Ndoma-Egba, others hail Ayade for joining APC

    Defection: South South APC bigwigs; Keyamo, Ndoma-Egba, others hail Ayade for joining APC

    Politicians from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), South South region have hailed the decision of the Cross River Governor, Ben Ayade to officially dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the party.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that Ayade declared for the APC on Thursday at Government House in Cross River.

    Reacting to the governor’s move to the ruling party, Minister of State for Labour and Productivity Festus Keyamo(SAN) in his official Twitter handle described Ayade as an enlightened and accomplished Governor.

    “I welcome one of the most cerebral, the most progressive, the most enlightened and the most accomplished Govs, Professor Ben Ayade to the fold of the progressives. As my elder brother and friend from the South South region, this is the day we have been waiting for”

    Similarly, former Senate Majority Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba has also congratulated governor Ayade on his defection to the APC, describing the defection as a well thought out decision that will be of huge benefit to Cross River State.

    In a congratulatory message to the governor, the former Senate Leader said the APC family in Cross River State welcome the Governor with open arms.

    “Your Excellency will recall that Cross River State has always been in the mainstream of Nigeria politics. There is no gainsaying the fact that the past six years of being in the opposition has impacted the State negatively, even though you have consciously navigated the ship of governance in sync with the APC-led Federal Government.

    “As a State, we can ill afford to remain in the opposition. I commend you for recognizing this fact and doing the needful for the good of our dear State. As you join us in the Progressives fold, my expectation is that your coming will enrich our internal democracy and I enjoin you to be consultative, inclusive, democratic, transparent and accountable because these are the hallmarks of the All Progressives Congress family.

    “I also expect that your presence in the APC will further strengthen the party and improve our electoral fortunes in Cross River State. I have no doubts that the APC family in the State has received you with open arms and will work with you to reposition our dear State on the path of unprecedented socioeconomic and sociopolitical development”, he said

    On his part, a former Presidential aide and chieftain of the APC, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla expressed excitement at the defection of Governor Ayade. “He has done his best for Cross River State, and he is still doing his best. Cross River State has a huge debt profile which Governor Ayade inherited, but Governor Ayade has managed the State’s economy excellently, paying salary and doing projects. I salute him. He is a man of sagacity and courage”, Obla said on his Facebook page.

    For the APC governorship candidate in the 2019 election, Senator Owan Eno, “We waited with baited breath and measured anticipation.

    I am enthused today, that finally, the rumour has now become a reality.

    “The historic nature of your entry into our party is not lost on every well meaning Cross Riverian.It evinces hope and has lit the light of unbridled optimism in the minds of party members and the teeming supporters of our great party in the state and across the nation.

    “Your entry into our party at this auspicious time in nation building,a period of profound challenges confronting the nation is remarkable”

  • Ayade’s defection has crippled PDP in Cross River – Deputy Speaker

    Ayade’s defection has crippled PDP in Cross River – Deputy Speaker

    Deputy Speaker of Cross River House of Assembly, Joseph Bassey, has officially defected to All Progressives Congress (APC) following the defection of Gov. Ben Ayade.

    Bassey told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview on Thursday in Calabar that the governor’s move has crumbled the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

    He said that the governor was moving to the ruling party with all members of the State House of Assembly, Commissioners, elected local council chairmen, councilors and over 6,000 political appointees in the state.

    “I have already moved with the governor. Cross River is now an APC state and the House of Assembly has also moved with the governor.

    “We just have to help Cross River residents by aligning with the centre. Cross River receives the least allocation from the Federal Government and this is not good enough.

    “In the past six years, Cross River has been an opposition party; this is the first time we are missing touch with the centre.We don’t have oil wells, our allocation is low. Ayade has tried in using his intellectual capacity and ability to attract some federal government presence into the state.

    “We are left with two years in this administration and we must align with the centre for the interest of the state,” he said.

    Bassey said that the state needed federal government’s support for the superhighway, the deep sea port and other projects that the governor had initiated.

    “For somebody like Ayade who has gone far to appoint over 6,000 persons into his government, it will be a difficult moment for PDP in Cross River.

    “I think today marks the official burial ceremony of PDP in Cross River and this will affect the national because I see other governors joining the APC soon.

    “With this movement, some of our people can now get better appointments at the centre. For us in Cross River we have moved,” he said.

    Ayade officially joined the APC at a ceremony in Calabar on Thursday attended by Gov. Mai Bala-Buni of Yobe, who is the Caretaker Chairman of APC and other governors.(

  • Tambuwal, Okowa, Ugwuanyi storm Cross River over Ayade’s alleged defection plans to APC

    Tambuwal, Okowa, Ugwuanyi storm Cross River over Ayade’s alleged defection plans to APC

    Some governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party have visited Cross River to resolve the crisis in the state chapter of the party.

    Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, led his colleagues in Delta and Enugu States, Ifeanyi Okowa and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, to meet with their Cross River counterpart, Ben Ayade.

    The meeting which held on Wednesday at the Government House in Calabar, the state capital focused on issues bordering on the party’s unity in Cross River and lasted about two hours.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that there had been reports of Governor Ayade’s possible defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the controversial congress held in the state.

    Briefing reporters at the end of the meeting, Governor Tambuwal described the discussion as a fruitful, peaceful, and productive engagement with party stakeholders in the state.

    He said, “We are here on the mandate of the PDP Governors’ Forum which was sanctioned by the National Working Committee (NWC) to come and engage with our dear brother and colleague, Professor Ben Ayade, the Governor of Cross River State, and the stakeholders of our party here in Cross River on the issues of the congresses held in the state that became contentious.

    “We have engaged with (them) and the feeler we have is that by the grace of God, we will soon resolve these issues and the party will bounce back as one.”

    “There were lots of concerns about how the congresses went and every one of us is interested that we restore normalcy to ensure that the family is brought back together and work together for the common interest of Cross River State,” the governor added.

    He noted that their report would be presented at a meeting of the PDP Governors’ Forum and the NWC for examination, deliberation, and action.

    After the meeting, the three visiting governors were led by Governor Ayade to the state’s Industrial Park comprising a frozen chicken line popularly called Calachika, Cross River State Instant Noodles branded KISIMIE Instant Noodles and the feed mill.

    They were delighted with the performance of their host whom they said has done well in job creation and diversification of the state’s economy.

  • Ayade’s planned defection to APC thickens as 18 LG chairmen, 196 councillors back governor

    Ayade’s planned defection to APC thickens as 18 LG chairmen, 196 councillors back governor

    The move by the Governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade to declare for the All Progressives Congress (APC) over alleged injustices to him by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) received a boost on Wednesday after the Local Government Chairmen and 196 councillors threatened to ‘go with the governor wherever he leads them’

    Sensing danger, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP immediately mobilised Governors Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and Godwin Obaseki of Edo State and the party’s reconciliation committee headed by a former President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, to persuade the governor from dumping the party.

    According to report by This Day, the 18 elected local government chairmen and 196 councillors said the only condition to remain in the party is a fresh conduct of its congress.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG gathered that the chairmen and councillors yesterday met with members of the NWC in Abuja during which they served the defection threat.

    The delegation, led by the Chairman of Akpabuyo Local Government Area, Hon. Emmanuel Bassey, in a petition handed over to the party’s Deputy National Secretary, Dr. Emmanuel Agbo, called for immediate conduct of transparent congresses at all levels in the state.

    According to reports, the last congress conducted by the PDP in the state, Ayade lost control of the structures to members of the party in the National Assembly.

    The governor’s loss of political structures at all levels to a faction that sponsored Hon. Agoms Jarigbe in the senatorial primary that pitted him against Senator Steve Odeh, sponsored by the faction loyal to the governor.

    Odeh, it was gathered, was sponsored by the governor to replace the late Senator Rose Okoh who died last year.

    It was alleged that Odeh reached a deal with the governor to spend only one term as a senator to enable Ayade to return to the Senate, where he was until 2015.

    However, the calculation failed as Jarigbe, a serving member of the House of Representatives refused to remain in the House.

    At the primary, PDP returned Odeh as the senatorial candidate, but Jarigbe rejected the outcome and went to court and his appeals were upheld.

    The development led to the threat of defection by the governor and his faction, which boycotted the zonal congress of the party held recently in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where Chief Dan Orbih was elected as the South-south National Vice Chairman.

    The governor also boycotted the PDP governors’ meeting at the weekend in Makurdi, Benue State.

    It was as a result of the threat by the governor to defect to the APC that the elected local government chairmen and councillors met with Agbo yesterday to present their petition for a new congress to confer respect on the governor as the leader of the party or they would defect.

    Chairman of the Calabar Municipal Council, Hon. Effiong Eke, told journalists after the meeting with the party that they demanded a fresh state congress to guarantee the return of party structures to the governor.

    He said: “The governor is the leader of the party in the state. He should be given control of the party structures and this can only be done with a fresh congress.

    “We are demanding a fresh congress. If not, where the Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, goes, we will go with him. He is the leader of the party in the state.”

    Also, the leader of the delegation, Hon. Emmanuel Bassey, who is also the Chairman of Cross Rivers State Local Government Chairmen Forum, said: “We are chairmen of the 18 local government councils in Cross River State. We came to meet the national chairman and we have met him, and he was ably represented by the Deputy National Secretary in the person of Dr. Emmanuel Agbo.

    “We came for the purpose of our state; the state of affair of the party in our state; we met him and we presented to him what we came with and he has honourably taken care of it and has assured us that he is going to make sure that what we presented to the party and what we came with, will be given immediate and urgent attention.”

    When he was asked to reveal the content of the petition presented, he said: “You guys must have known that the state congress has not been held, and we did ask that it be done urgently. And he has assured us that that will be considered urgently.

    “For God’s sake, Prof. Ben Ayade is the party leader in Cross River State; he is the one that leads, just like every other governor in any PDP state. So, let us give him his due respect. Let it be given to him.

    Whatever equation he must have taken, I think is to a great extent it is for the goodness and betterment of the party.

    “Let me state here categorically that we are the pillars of the party in Cross River State and these pillars were erected by Prof. Ben Ayade; so, if he goes, we go with him.”

  • Promiscuity high in Cross River, 60% of Sec. School students aren’t virgins – Ayade’s aide

    Promiscuity high in Cross River, 60% of Sec. School students aren’t virgins – Ayade’s aide

    The Special Adviser to Governor Ben Ayade on Education, Castro Ezama, has said more than 60% of the girl child in secondary schools in Cross River State are not virgins.

    Ezama said this during a programme on FAD FM Radio in Calabar monitored by our correspondent while speaking on government’s effort to improve the standard of education in the state.

    He said there was high level of promiscuity and permissiveness amongst students in the state.

    He said: “50 or 60% of girls in our secondary schools are not virgins. And this is not good for the image of the state and of education.”

    Another aide to the governor on Public Communication, Eugene Upah, who corroborated Ezama, said: “I was with Castro Ezama sometime back when he interacted with secondary school students. The revelations from some of them confirmed the statistics….”

    Meanwhile, reactions have trailed the comments made the governor’s aides.

    A councillor representing Ward 7 in Bakassi Local Government Area, Grace Bassey, said such statement was demeaning of the girl child.

    She rued the statement which highlighted sexual issues about girls while excluding the boy child, stressing that it was “totally unacceptable” and should be condemned

  • C/River Govt. warns against indiscriminate dumping of waste

    C/River Govt. warns against indiscriminate dumping of waste

    The Cross River Environmental Protection Agency has warned residents of Calabar against dumping of refuse from moving vehicles on major roads in Calabar metropolis.
    Director General of the Agency, Mr Erasmus Ekpang, gave the warning in a press release issued on Saturday in Calabar.
    “In line with Gov. Ben Ayade’s passion for a clean, healthy environment, it is therefore our collective responsibility to protect health, property and quality of life for a better Cross River.
    “Henceforth, all trucks conveying stones, sand, goods and waste must be properly covered to avoid litters on the roads. Households are expected to bag their refuse before disposal.
    “Also, dumping of waste from moving vehicle on major roads are prohibited. If caught, both the offender and drivers will be held responsible.
    “Transporters and households are by this announcement given two weeks to procure waste baskets from our office, at No. 3 Mary Slessor Road, Calabar,” the release stated.
    The release added that a surveillance team had been set across the state to monitor, apprehend and enforce the process.
    “Defaulters will be penalized/sanctioned in line with the provision of the Cross River Environmental Protection law,” the release added.
  • Ayade Congratulates New Chief of Army Staff, Major-General Attahiru Ibrahim

    Ayade Congratulates New Chief of Army Staff, Major-General Attahiru Ibrahim

    The Cross River state governor, Ben Ayade, has congratulated Major-General Attahiru Ibrahim on his new appointment as Chief of Army Staff, saying President Muhammadu Buhari would not have made a better choice.

    A statement signed by his Special on Media and Publicity, Mr. Christian Ita, quoted the governor as describing General Attahiru’s appointment as fitting, proper and deserving.

    Ayade recalled that the new Army Chief has a long history with Cross River having served in the state as the Commander of the 13th Brigade, Calabar.

    “As a state, we are not surprised at General Attahiru’s appointment as the new Chief of Army Staff. His emergence clearly shows that a golden fish indeed has no hiding place. General Attahiru is a thorough breed officer who distinguished himself professionally while here as a Brigade Commander.

    “Indeed, President Buhari could not have made a better choice because in General Attahiru you have a meticulous, cerebral, and brave officer. His appointment is, therefore, fitting, deserving and proper”, the governor said.

    Continuing, Professor Ayade emphasized that “General Attahiru’s appointment is again for our dear state for this fine officer has a long history with Cross River. He is one of our own having served as the Commander of the 13th Brigade, Calabar.

    “We are indeed joyous that one of our own is on the saddle. We congratulate the new Chief of Army Staff and look forward to a robust working relationship with him nay the Army.”

  • Acting Chief Judge orders 30 protesting magistrates to vacate office

    Acting Chief Judge orders 30 protesting magistrates to vacate office

    The Acting Chief Judge of Cross River State, Hon Justice Eyo Efiom Ita has ordered the 29 Protesting Magistrates in the state to vacate their sits in various courts in the state pending the resolution of the matter involving their two years salary.

    Ita, in a letter signed by the Chief Registrar, Edem N. Okokon, said they have been withdrawn from sitting in any courts till further notice.

    The magistrates have not been paid since their engagement in February 2019

    The acting chief judge whose tenures expires next week also asked the 30 magistrates to stay at home, alleging that many of them have been involved in corrupt practices in order to survive.

    The press statement claimed that the government regretted their employment, saying “there is no conscientious reason to have allowed you (magistrates) to work without pay for all the while..”

    Last week, the magistrates had protested in front of the governor’s office for three days over non-payment of two years salaries.