Senator Gershom Bassey (PDP Cross River South), declared Friday that the defection of Governor Benedict Ayade from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), will have little or no effect on support of Cross – River People to PDP.
Governor Ayade of Cross River State, had after months of speculations by political watchers, defected to APC on Thursday.
But Senator Bassey in his reaction to the governor’s action while fielding questions from journalists, said Ayade ‘s action is more of a misadventure as other leading political players in the state and majority of people are not ready to follow him and will not even follow him, having pitched their tent with PDP since 1999.
He berated the governor for ditching the party that made him what he is today politically, from Senator to Governor.
He said, “As a strong stakeholder in the Peoples Democratic Party, I find the defection of Governor Ben Ayade, most regrettable because he won all his elections as a senator, two terms as governor. It is rather sad that after all the confidence that had been reposed in him by the PDP in Cross River state, he will dump the platform abruptly but we wish him well.
“His defection will not have any negative implications on the PDP in the state because the party remained strong and dominant in the state.
“Most of the National and State House of Assembly members are remaining firm in the PDP. The key stakeholders are still in the party and even some of his appointees have offered to resign rather than go with him. So, the PDP continue to remain strong in the party.”
The senator added that Ayade’s action is like jumping from a steadily sailing ship to a fastly sinking one, by alleging that crises will soon break up in APC where he had run to .
“I foresee crisis and conflicts happening in the APC but our party remains strong.
“The bulk of the National Assembly members are not sailing with Ayade. We remain strong and staunch members of the PDP. I am a founding member of the PDP and I have seen no reason in the last 22 years that I have been in the party to move anywhere.
