BY PRINCELY ONYENWE, IMO
The Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu has disclosed the rationale behind the defection of the Governor of Cross Rivers State from the Peoples Democratic Party to the governing APC.
9News Nigeria reports that Governor Ben Ayade formally declared for the ruling party at the Cross River State Executive Council Chamber, Governor’s Office in Calabar after a two-hour meeting with seven APC governors led by the party’s interim chairman and governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni.
While speaking with 9News NIGERIA on Thursday, Okechukwu, a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress, pointed out that Ayade’s defection was necessitated by the agrarian revolution of President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal government going on nationwide.
He added that cross river had benefited handsomely from the revolution and further posited that Ayade’s entry into the All Progressive Congress would give the latter the mileage in attracting more infrastructural amenities from the center.
The VON DG commended Ayade for his wisdom in pitching tent with the progressive party, urging the Cross River State Chief Executive to study the APC manifesto carefully, as he stated that the governing party believes in Infrastructure and projects.
His words, “Governor Ayade is welcomed on board. I think, is of the interest of his state that he want to join the majority party. I think is a wisdom, because, he is one of the foremost beneficiaries of President Muhammadu Buhari agrarian revolution.
“He has benefited handsomely, and he knows. Now he is in APC, he has great mileage in attracting more amenities from the center. I think, the governor is in order.
“Let him carefully go through our manifesto so that he would understand where we are coming from. That APC socially believe in infrastructure and projects. Like the PDP that share the money, so, he has alot to learn as pertaining to infrastructure”.
Meanwhile, speaking on why he was joining the APC, Governor Ben Ayade highlighted the character attributes of President Muhammadu Buhari and the realisation that Cross River, which has been emasculated economically following the ceding of its oil wells, needed to be in sync with the party at the center, as the main reasons for moving.
According to the governor, “having seen and known the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and his commitment to this country, his nationalistic disposition and all the efforts he has made to bring Nigeria to where we are today, it is obvious that at this point, we needed to join hands with him to build a Nigeria that we can be proud of”.
9News Nigeria (Owerri)
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