Former Governor of Cross River State, Senator Professor Ben Ayade, has yielded to a directive from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to withdraw his ambition for the Cross River North Senatorial seat in the 2027 general elections.
In an emotional statement released on Monday, Ayade disclosed that he was recently invited to Abuja for a high-level national consultation with the Presidency.
Following the meeting, it became evident that the President wanted him to shelve his senatorial bid.
“I yield to his request even as I pour tears of ill treatment and agony”, Ayade said.
Professor Ayade who served two terms as Governor and was a Senator before that, recounted his significant contributions to the growth of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South-South region.
He noted that he was the first APC Governor in the South-South and played foundational and pivotal role in building the party’s structure in Cross River State. During the 2023 presidential election, he delivered nearly 40,000 votes above PDP’s performance in the state a historic feat.
Ayade also reminded President Tinubu of his early support, stating that he was the first APC Governor to push for Tinubu to be given the right of first refusal as the party’s 2023 presidential candidates. He popularized the slogan: “If Tinubu Can Fix Lagos, Tinubu Can Fix Nigeria”.
Despite these efforts, Ayade said he has been sidelined for over three years without any federal appointment. He is, however, currently running a free transportation scheme as part of his campaign support for the President’s expected 2027 re-election bid.
He appealed to the President to revisit the order, arguing that his federal constituency has only enjoyed senatorial representation for eight years, while his opponent has had 20 years. Granting the opponent another term, he said, would amount to a fourth term in the National Assembly.
-9News Nigeria.
