A support group within the chapter of the state of Cross River of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP), the Base Democratic Alliance (GDA), has criticized the Caucus of the Senatorial District of the South of the Party for rejecting the support of the State Holder, Mr. Venatius Ikem, for a second term.
The refutation occurs days after the separated meetings of Caucus in the hands of the interested parties of the Southern and Central Districts Party.
The Caucus had rejected Ikem’s continuation in office and, on the other hand, declared support for the candidacy of another applicant, Mr. Tim Ekawu, before the State Congress of the party scheduled for September.
In a statement issued in Calabar and signed by its president, Effiom Bassey, and the secretary, Ntui Agbor, the GDA characterized the position of the South Caucus as the work of politicians who have lost credibility with the base of the party.
The group affirmed that the decision to extend the possession of Ikem was achieved through due process and cited its “history proven in public service” as a key reason for its support. This contrasts with what he called a “lack of obvious credibility among his detractors.”
The GDA had a hard view of the alternative candidate, Ekawu, describing his candidacy as “a joke.”
The group accused Ekawu, whom they identified as former coordinator of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) at Cross River North, to challenge the directives of the party.
The GDA questioned the legitimacy of the meeting where the South Caucus made its decision, pointing out the absence of the main stakeholders such as the former Deputy Governor Effiok Cobham, former members of the National Assembly, the Honorable Essien Ayi and the Honorable Etta Mbora, as well as all the six presidents of the PDP of the local government of the District.
The group dismissed the meeting as “an exhausted and desperate group” and “a meeting of a drowned poster surviving in the trade of political horses whose time has expired.”
It is alleged that many attendees were people who had already defected the ADC and, therefore, were no longer members of the legitimate structures of the PDP.
The group said that the future of the party could not be entrusted to those who accused of not strengthening it as a credible opposition force in the state.
Read also: Cross River PDP Chieftain Defects to APC, call the party ‘Sinking Ship’
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