C’River Assembly Crisis: Ex-Senate leader, Ndoma-Egba denies endorsing anyone as Speaker, begs to be left alone

Former Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma has denied allegations against him that he endorsed Hon. Kingsley Ntui Ntui as the next Speaker of the State House of Assembly.

Egba, a Senior Advocates of Nigeria and a former Board Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission, reacted to online publications making the round that he has interest in the next Speaker of the Cross Rivers State House of Assembly.

The online reports indicated that Ndoma Egba and the State Governor, Bassey Otu have interest in replacing the embattled Speaker, Elvert Ayabem.

In a statement released by his Media Office and obtained by CAPITAL POST on Sunday, the Senior Advocates of Nigeria refuted the report and urged purveyors to leave him out of the State Assembly crisis.

“It has just come to the notice of Distinguished Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba that he is purported to have endorsed Hon. Kingsley Ntui of the Etung State Constituency as the next speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly. This is as contained in a news article making the rounds on social media.

“For the avoidance of doubt and to set the record straight before the general public, Senator Ndoma-Egba has not endorsed any one to be Speaker of the Cross River State Assembly. He emphatically debunks that story and advise mischief makers to desist from misleading the public.

“To start with, Senator Ndoma-Egba is not a member of the Cross River State House of Assembly and as such cannot determine who should be the Speaker. Secondly, the Senator, like every other well-meaning leader in Cross River State decries the recent developments in the Cross River State House of Assembly and expresses his hope and expectation that the matter will be amicably resolved in a timely manner for the good of Cross River State.

“Thirdly, Senator Ndoma-Egba holds the strong view that Cross River State cannot afford any political crisis in whatever form. Especially during a time in which the State is beginning to enjoy the fruits of the exemplary leadership so far displayed by the State Governor, His Excellency, Senator Prince Bassey Otu, who is vigorously implementing the People’s First agenda that is already yielding positive and tangible results.

“Finally, the former Senate Leader believes that the Governor as the Leader of the State will, together with the honourable members of the House of Assembly, reach an amicable resolution of the issue of the speakership of the Assembly.

“It is therefore very uncharitable for anyone or group of persons to insinuate, let alone publicly announce with such audacity, that Senator Ndoma-Egba has endorsed anyone to be Speaker. The public is therefore advised to disregard any such news in its entirety.”