2019: Uncertainty persists over Ayade second term

• Secondus intervention peace meeting inconclusive

The uncertainty has continued to persist over the intention of the Governor of Cross Rivers State, Professor Ben Ayade, to secure the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for his re-election for second term in 2019. This is not unconnected with the outcome of the Wednesday interventionist peace meeting at the PDP Secretariat, Abuja, convened by PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, attended by the embattled governor and members of the PDP Support Group, which ended inconclusive.

The PDP Support Group led by members of the National Assembly and other prominent PDP leaders from Cross River State were said to have declared that they will vehemently resist the imposition of Governor Ayade for second term in the state, threatening be “contemplating their next move” which may include defecting to another political party if Secondus imposes Ayade on Cross River PDP.

National Daily gathered that Secondus convened the meeting in the request of Ayade to assuage the party stakeholders to change their mind on his rejection for second term.

Ayade has been among the few PDP governors that have been romancing with President Muhammadu Buhari and other APC leaders.

The inconclusive Wednesday peace meeting was attended by senators and some House of Representatives members in the National Assembly and party leaders in Cross River State in the vanguard of the Cross River PDP Support Group resisting Ayade from picking PDP ticket for second term reelection in 2019.

The Cross River PDP Support Group contends that PDP will throw away victory to the APC in 2019 if the party presents Ayade as candidate, noting that he has been increasingly unpopular among voters because of his very poor performance in the past three years.

The PDP Support Group had earlier declared that, Ayade is “the worse civilian government ever seen in the state, known to Cross Riverians as a fraud, clown, con man, liar, a thief and the most abused Governor in the history of our dear State.”

The stakeholders had accused Ayade of looting billions of naira from the treasury of the State Government since he assumed office in 2015, using bogus projects and MoUs.

It was gathered that beside the PDP Support Group, majority Cross Riverians, including 95 per cent of appointees in his cabinet are also opposed to his re0ekectuon for second term in office.