According to report, Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, says he joined the All Progressive Congress (APC) because of President Buhari’s nationalistic disposition and commitment to the country.
The Governor
on Thursday, May 20, dumped the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the ruling
party and directed all the leaders with who were with him in PDP, members of
the State House of Assembly, to also jump ship.
The Governor
formally declared for the ruling party at the Cross River State Executive
Council Chamber, Governor’s Office in Calabar after a two-hour meeting with
seven APC governors led by the party’s interim chairman and governor of Yobe
State, Mai Mala Buni.
Speaking on
why he was joining the APC, Ayade highlighted the character attributes of
President Muhammadu Buhari and the realisation that Cross River, which has been
emasculated economically following the ceding of its oil wells, needed to be in
sync with the party at the center, as the main reasons for moving.
“Having seen
and known the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and his commitment
to this country, his nationalistic disposition and all the efforts he has made
to bring Nigeria to where we are today, it is obvious that at this point we
needed to join hands with him to build a Nigeria that we can be proud of,” he
stated.
“We need all
governors to recognize that it is not party that matters. It is character, it
is honor, it is commitment to the vision of this great nation. We all need to
as a team work ahead of the president by working towards building a prosperous
country that the succession worries of 2023 will come without the fears and the
worries the international community has for us. I believe that if everyone of
us as governor joins hands with Mr President, I think we can sit on the same
dining table and fashion out a way to govern this country.” he added.
Reacting to
the development, an elated Buni said he and his team were in the state to
formally welcome Governor Ayade to the APC.
“I am here on
behalf of the APC family to welcome His Excellency the Executive Governor of
Cross River State formally to the APC. As from today he is the leader of the
party in the state.”
Other APC
governors at the meeting included Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, Kayode Fayemi of
Ekiti State, Solomon Lalong of Plateau State, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, his Jigawa
state counterpart, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar and the Minister of State for
Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylver.
Others were
the state deputy governor, Prof Ivara Esu, Speaker of the state house of
assembly, Rt. Hon. Eteng Williams Jones and members of the state house of
assembly, some National Assembly members, members of the Cross River State
Executive Council members, local Government chairmen, councillors and some
stakeholders, including Dame Princess Florence Ita-Giwa and High Chief Asuquo
Ekpenyong amongst others.
No comments:
Post a Comment