Cross River: I’m not battling Ayade for APC leadership – Ndoma-Egba debunks rumours

Former Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, has debunked a report where he was said to have declared that he remains the leader of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River State, regardless of Governor Ben Ayade’s defection to the party.

Ayade, as TrackNews Online reported, defected to the APC on Thursday saying his decision was due to the 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 centre.

Ndoma-Egba said this in a statement signed by his media manager, Sunny Udeh, and made available to DAILY POST on Monday.

The former Senate leader said he never granted any press interview to react to the defection of Ayade other than the written statement he personally signed to congratulate and welcome the governor to APC.

“Our attention has been drawn to a mischievous publication on some online platforms wherein Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba was quoted as declaring himself the leader of the APC in Cross River State, while reacting to the defection of Prof. Ben Ayade to the APC.

“Clearly, the objective is to paint the Senator as someone struggling for relevance and unhappy with Gov. Ayade’s entry into the APC, both of which are very far from the truth,” the statement read.

“It is public knowledge that even before the entry of Gov. Ayade to the APC, Sen. Ndoma-Egba was never in contention with anybody for the leadership of the party in Cross River State.

“In case the authors of the frivolous publication, in their haste to please their paymasters, do not know, it is standard practice in party politics to have a sitting Governor as the leader of the party in the State.”

Following his defection to the ruling party, Governor Ayade had declared that more Governors elected on the PDP platform will join the APC soon.

He also listed the individuals and groups that will join him in his new party such as the state’s ward councilors, Local Government Chairmen, House of Assembly members, National Assembly members and members of his cabinet.

Senator Orji Kalu speaks on Ayade’s defection to APC