Governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade has said that he decided to join the All Progressives Congress because of President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to Nigeria, his nationalistic disposition and all the efforts he has made to bring Nigeria to where it is currently.
TGNews reported earlier on Thursday that Ayade has dumped the opposition Peoples Democratic Party for the ruling APC.
Speaking on what informed his decision, the governor said, “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.
“We need all governors to recognize that it is not the party that matters. It is a character, it is an honour, it is a commitment to the vision of this great nation.
“We all need teamwork ahead of the president by working towards building a prosperous country that the succession worries of 2023 will come without the fears and the worries the international community has for us.
“I believe that if every one of us as governor joins hands with Mr President, I think we can sit on the same dining table and fashion out a way to govern this country.”
Speaking on the development, Yobe State Governor, Mai Buni, who led a delegation of seven APC governors to meet Ayade in Cross Rivers State said, “I am here on behalf of the APC family to welcome His Excellency the Executive Governor of Cross River State formally to the APC. As of today, he is the leader of the party in the state.”
The governors that went with Buni were Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Solomon Lalong of Plateau State, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu and his Jigawa State counterpart, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar.
The Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva and some other APC members also witnessed the governor’s defection to APC.
