Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Top members of the ruling party, including governors and senators are currently at Government House, Calabar, where the defection was finalised.
Sources within the state Government tell NewsWireNGR, “the governor is looking for political survival at the end of his tenure and he has figured that the only way to stay relevant is to join the ruling party, it is not personal but politics”.
“It is however not clear if the people of the state will join him in this decision, only a 2023 general elections will tell”.
Governor Ayade announced his decision on Thursday morning in a meeting with six APC governors who visited him at the Government House.
Some of the governors arrived in Calabar on Wednesday evening ahead of their meeting on Thursday with Governor Ayade.
The APC governors at the meeting are Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodima, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State among others, according to Government House sources.
It was, however, gathered that Jigawa State Governor, Mr. Abubakar Badaru, and his Kebbi State counterpart, Mr. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, could not make it to Calabar as bad weather conditions did not allow their aircraft to land.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Timipre Sylva, was also said to be in the APC team.
A source at the Cross River State Government House last night said, that the delegation was led by Buni.
The Cross River State governor is having problems with the PDP over the conduct of the last state congress in the state where he lost control of the structures in the state.
He was absent at the last PDP governors’ meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Following speculations that he might defect to the APC, the Chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum and Sokoto State Governor, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal; Governor
Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta and Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State recently visited him to persuade him not to leave the opposition party.
