Cross River Governor, Ben Ayade Decamps To APC

The visiting governors were Mai Mala Buni of Yobe, Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, Hope Uzodinma of Imo, Simon Lalong of Plateau, Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa and Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti.

It is not exactly clear why the Cross River governor left the PDP, but he, however, stated that his defection was to align the state with the ruling party at the centre for prosperous growth and development and to also join hands with President Muhammadu Buhari in building the nation.

in his statement, Mr Ayade said, “Buhari’s commitment to the development of the country is commendable. It is obvious at this point that we need to join hands with him to build a nation that we all can be proud of.

“As a team, we want to work with Mr President towards building a prosperous country that his succession process in 2023 will come without fear and hitches. If we as governors join hands with the President and agree on a way to govern this country, we will make progress.

“Having recognised the issue of our youths and unemployment, it is my responsibility as the leader of the party to do what I can to assist the President in the building process. We need to position Cross River at the centre of activities and on that note, I declare Cross River as an APC state.”

Ayade was elected as the governor of Cross Rivers State in 2015 and was reelected in 2019 under the platform of the PDP. Ayade is the second sitting governor to have pitched his camp with the ruling APC, after Ebonyi State governor, David Umahi departed the PDP Six months ago.