Ben Ayade’s exit from PDP is good riddance to bad rubbish

By Abubakar Yusuf

Nobody was surprised that the controversial Professor Ben Ayade has left PDP. May the Peoples Democratic Party ((PDP) never see such a grand betrayal in the political development of states and Nigeria at large, be it PDP, APC or any other political party.

The so called Professor who had succeeded in ruining his political career and gave it a final burial thought he could rubbish the hard earned legacies of the founding fathers of old Cross River State, Late Clement Isong up till the former and Immediate past Governor, Liyel Imoke who stood practically as a democrat both in theory and practice and contributed in no small quantum to the political and economic development of the State.

In the history of Nigeria’s democracy since independence, one has not seen such an unpopular and irredeemable politician without decorum like Professor Ben Ayade of recent, one very cunny, slippery and uncultured.

Infact, he is more or less a celebrated theorist than seeing any practical achievements in the last six years, both in Cross River State where he hold sway and to the party he won twice as Governor and Nigeria at large, therefore, celebrating his entrance into the ruling APC, is a wasteful jollification without recourse for it.

It’s shocking to Nigerians how he had lorded over Cross Riverians of PDP extraction since his assumption of duty as the Governor of Cross River State.

This revelation came after he had misinformed the former Govenor, Liyel Imoke of his popularity and the later helped him greatly to become the executive Governor of the State in 2015.

Governor Ayade, a ‘nobody’ soon after assumption of duty in Cross River State started clamping down on everybody including heavy weight political gladiators both at the State to the grassroot levels.

His only show of strength is not to develop even calabar, the capital of Cross River State that he met fastly growing, but how to take over the structure of the party from the revered gentleman to the core and immediate past Governor, Liyel Imoke by influencing all the party’s congressess from units to wards, local government and state level.

This ugly development is what he has channeled the resources of Cross River State in the last six years, using the meagre resources to ferry his teleguided party officials from Abuja in a chartered flight to calabar, who will inturn stayed for months and be compiling bogus list presented from each unit by the Governor to the state level, without the consent and input of party officials in the state.

On many occasions, some of the exercises are concluded in high brow hotels in Abuja designated by Ayade through his aides in carrying out this anti democratic and antt people’s activities.

Forms meant for delegates to complete at the units, wards and local government levels up to the state are all kept in the custody of Governor Ayade and his aides, after the assignment and bogus remunerations and honorarium, a social gathering will be organised where the beautiful Calabar women are provided as part of parting gift to the party officials, included the usual hard earned currencies and dollars meant for the development of Cross River State.

At a point, the liaison officer to the State government in Abuja became special assistant to Ayade on electoral matters that concerns party congressess in Cross River State.

So in the last six years, that was what Cross River people of PDP extraction could not resist, but have realized and confronted the Governor over this shameless attitude, that gave him the frustration of his life to leave PDP.

In the history of Cross River State since the return to democracy, no any other party ever held sway in the state and they will be a repeat in the 2023 general election as PDP will sweep the state like never before.

Like party issues, like other developmental issues in Cross River State as well as social services, as the state government and governance is being ran on the premise of naked lies and pretences.

It baffles many Cross Riverians and Nigerians how an acclaimed academic of high repute could be acting the opposite the prestige and aura of people of that calibre, talk more of a state Governor.

With his exit, it bye, bye to wastage on a supposed sane electoral and internal democracy that was meant to strengthen the party at all levels, just like he has showed his lack of popularity among the people.

Therefore, if democracy is a game of numbers, Governor Ayade was not fit to be a ward councillor in Cross River State as a naked manipulator of internal mechanism.

Good bye to undeserved popularity, good bye to pretentious political maggot, welcome to real PDP in Cross River State.

History will in no distant future vindicate the operators of this other side of democracy both in Cross River State piloted by Governor Ayade and Nigeria at large.

Yusuf is a Public Affairs Analyst.