Big Blow for APC in Cross River as 5 Councillors Dumps Party, Decamps to PDP

Big Blow for APC in Cross River as 5 Councillors Dumps Party, Decamps to PDP

  • Ahead of the march 26, national convention, Some members of the ruling APC in Cross Rivers State have decided to walk away from the party
  • This development was made known by a PDP governorship aspirant in the state, Senator Gershom Bassey, during a consultative visit to members of the party in Obanliku LGA, in the state
  • Meanwhile, the councillors were presented before the governorship aspirant by the chapter chairman of the PDP in the northern senatorial district of the state

Five serving lawmakers of the Obanliku legislative council in Cross River state have defected back to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The information about the defection of the councillors came to the fore at the weekend when they were presented before a PDP governorship aspirant in the state, Senator Gershom Bassey, This Day reports.

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The councillors who were presented before the governorship aspirant by the Chapter Chairman of the PDP in Obanliku Local Government Chairman Hon. Justine Ejisekpe, are Hon. Adida Justin, Hon. Ololo Francis, Hon. Helen Ejikang, Hon. Ogor Doris and Hon. Polycarp Ugiugbong.

Big Blow for APC in Cross River as 5 Councillors Stage Walk Out, Joins PDP
The councillors also drummed massive support for Bassey’s aspiration and assured him of their complete loyalty to him and the PDP. Photo credit: Joseph Duke
Source: Facebook

Addressing Senator Bassey, and his entourage, Ejisekpe, said the councillors are now back to the PDP and would give the party the necessary support to win the 2023 general elections in their wards and the entire state.

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The PDP chapter chairman who said Bassey was benevolent, magnanimous and altruistic nature noted that he embodies, and typifies a good example of a leader who is desirous of changing the lives of his people.

He appealed fervently to the governorship aspirant to remember Obanliku youths who are idle and empower them when he becomes the state governor.

The councillors also drummed massive support for Bassey’s aspiration and assured him of their complete loyalty to him and the PDP.

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Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River state

Meanwhile, Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River state and his deputy, Ivara Esu, left the PDP for the APC in May 2021.

Just like the situation in Ebonyi, the PDP had instituted a suit before a Federal High Court in Abuja, praying the court to, among others, sack Ayade and his deputy for defecting to the APC.

In the suit filed by a team of lawyers led by Emmanuel Ukala (SAN), the PDP argued that the mandate was given by the Cross River electorate to the party on whose platform Ayade contested, adding that the mandate cannot be transferred to the APC or any other political party.

‘Yahoo, Yahoo’: 2 APC governors tackle each other as crisis tears ruling party apart ahead of 2023

Earlier, Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara state has expressed reservation over the use of “unprintable words” by his Ondo state counterpart, Rotimi Akeredolu, over the crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC).

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Umahi's sack: List of governors, senators, Reps, state lawmakers who may lose their seats over defection

The crisis in the APC took a new dimension when Governor Sani Bello of Niger on Monday, March 7, in Abuja assumed the party's leadership.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state later said that President Muhammadu Buhari allegedly approved the removal of the Yobe state governor, Mai Mala Buni, as the APC's caretaker chairman and okayed Bello's emergence as the new leader.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Esther Odili avatar

Esther Odili (Politics and Current Affairs Editor) Esther Odili is a journalist and a Politics/Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng with 6+ years of experience. Before joining Legit.ng, Esther has worked with other reputable media houses, such as the New Telegraph newspaper and Galaxy Television. She Holds OND and HND in Mass Communication from NIJ, where she was recognized as the best student in print journalism in 2018. Email: esther.odili@corp.legit.ng.