Cross River APC Faces Implosion Amid Accusations Of Imposition, High Handedness Against Ayade

…PDP Waits

The emergence of Bassey Otu, former Senator representing Cross River South in the 8th Assembly as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Cross River State has continued to tear the party apart in the state.

There are accusations that Otu emerged in controversial circumstances through the aid of the state governor, Ben Ayade.

Attempts to placate aggrieved aspirants Otu uptaged to emerge as candidate have been unsuccessful as they vowed to ensure his defeat in the 2023 governorship election if they are unable to get justice through the court.

The aggrieved governorship aspirants, who are 15 of the 18 that bought the governorship ticket, accused Ayade of planning to install a stooge as APC candidate.

This view is also being held by the opposition political parties in the state led by the PDP, the party Ayade defected from more than a year ago,.

The party accused him of propping up one of his “boys” to cover up his excessive looting and abysmal performance as governor.

The Accusations:

One of the trending accusations is that Otu is not a core APC member but PDP. He was a one-term senator in the PDP before defecting to the APC in 2016 in a state that still leans heavily towards the PDP.

Ayade alongside some of his political appointees defected in May 2021 to the APC.

As the governor, he automatically became the most senior member of the party in the state. His defection polarised the party as old members including ministers serving and other former and current appointees in the administration of Muhammadu Buhari have refused to bow to him.

The dissension that followed his membership of the APC festered on without resolution as members such as former Minister for Niger Delta, Usani Usani, former Senator representing Cross River Central, John Owan Eno, and former Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Prosecution, Okoi Obono-Obla, who were aspirants among others, have formed various factions in the party.

Not only is Ayade and Otu being accused of reaping where they did not sow, the manner in which Otu emerged is also a source of grievance.

18 aspirants including Otu purchased the governorship ticket for the primary according to reports seen by this paper at the APC National Headquarters in Abuja. But in a strange twist, the primary did not hold as the governor said the candidate must emerge through a consensus.

The aspirants said without a notice, a press statement from the Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, Erasmus Ekpang, was issued to the effect that Otua had emerged the consensus candidate after a night meeting in Abuja.

But Obono-Obla and 14 others said they did not attend the meeting and accused Ayade of imposition.

While noting that APC had lost it, Obono-Obla warned, “Let us see how the anointed aspirants will deliver the party in Cross River State. As it stands, the Party is fractured beyond redemption.”

He alleged that, “The brandishing of the name of one particular aspirant as the favoured one weeks before the election amounts to intimidation. The potentate makes sure that you must have his endorsement before you can aspire to become a candidate.”

Otu is also being accused of being a murderer in an incident that happended since 1987, and of filing fake school certificates, a development some aspirants said might lead to the disqualification of the APC from taking part in elections in the state.

As a result of these allegations, THE WHISTLER gathered that Otu was not cleared by the screening committee and his case was declared “inconclusive” by the screening committee chairman, Suleiman D. Fakai, and secretary, Chidi Nwogu via a report of the exercise submitted to the National Working Committee of the party.

They acknowledged receiving several petitions including a far reaching one from Messrs B.I Dakum & Co.

The report of the committee said, “The Committee, after due scrutiny of the content of the Petition and the supporting documents, found no evidence to substantiate the allegation of conviction of the aspirant before any court of law.

“However, with regards to the allegation of his questionable academic credentials, subject could neither produce his First School Leaving Certificate nor his WASC.

“He could only produce his secondary school testimonial. In the circumstances therefore, the Committee has no option than to declare this matter as inconclusive,” the report added.

Similarly, stakeholders such James Udoh and Emmanuel Akpan, who are Chairman and Secretary of Cross River State Council For Good Governance (CRSCGG) equally wrote a petition to the APC National Chairman Abdullahi Adamu, warning him of the consequences of allowing Peter Odey as the governorship running mate in the state, declaring that, “Peter Odey is not a legitimate member of APC. He denied being a member in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/976/2021.”

They have refused to have anything to do with the ticket and have vowed to work against the party in the state unless the decision is reversed.

In a petition seen by our correspondent, the group said. “It is on record and the evidence is there that Peter Odey, a stooge to the governor in an attempt to please the governor defected with the governor to APC and when sued by the PDP, he swore on oath that he is still a member of PDP.”

APC Members Romancing, Working For PDP

Owing to the alleged infighting in the APC, it was gathered that many aggrieved members including those who have been named as senior heads of the APC governorship campaign council in the state are romancing the PDP.

Several members spoken to by this paper refused to disclose their identities but said it’s better they work from the inside to leak secrets for the downfall of the party than to defect now.

A member of the campaign council told this medium that, “My loyalty has shifted to the PDP because of the high handedness of governor Ben Ayade and imposition.

“Everyone knows Otu is the least qualified among those who vied for the APC governorship ticket in the state. He has not freed himself from accusation of being a murderer since 1987. There’s also a question mark over his school certificate and age.

“Then, you went ahead to impose him when he is yet to be cleared by the party screening committee. He did not pass the screening.

“Also, at the primary, every aspirant was prevented from attending. He still went ahead to impose a political neophyte who has publicly and in the Federal High court in Nigeria declared he is not a member of the APC.

“The party will fail because a lot of people are not happy with Ayade. You can see high profile defection already,” he said.

Another source who was an appointee of Buhari explained that by virtue of his declaration that he is not a member of the APC and “The case being in court – the case of Peter Odey and 17 others who were sacked for defecting from the PDP to the APC,” it is bad to allow such a person on the ballot.

“This has further divided the party. As we speak, Odey and others deposed to an affidavit that they are not APC members but the court ruled against them.

“So if you are not an APC member, why then are you a running mate?

“The PDP, like some members of the APC have approached the court and soon APC will have no candidate in the state.

“For me, I’m just here for now but soon I, like some members of the APC, join another party.”

Otu was contacted for comment but did not respond at the time of going to press.

Also, the Erasmus did not respond to messages sent to his telephone line.