By Onoja Baba, Nigeria
Former Cross River State Governor, Senator Prof. Ben Ayade, has withdrawn from the race for the Cross River North Senatorial District in the 2027 elections following a direct order from President Bola Tinubu.
In a lengthy statement released on Monday, Ayade said he was invited to Abuja for a high-level consultation with the Presidency, after which President Tinubu asked him to shelve his senatorial ambition.
He stated that he has decided to obey the directive even though it caused him “tears of ill treatment and agony.”
Ayade, however, expressed strong reservations about the decision, claiming that the beneficiaries of the President’s order were people who allegedly worked against the APC during the 2023 elections, including those who turned churches against the party over the Muslim-Muslim ticket and were involved in violence at collation centres.
The former governor highlighted his contributions to the APC in Cross River State and the South-South region. He noted that he was the first APC governor in the South-South, delivered over 40,000 votes above the PDP for President Tinubu in 2023, and had consistently supported Tinubu’s presidential ambition since 2022 with the slogan “If Tinubu Can Fix Lagos, Tinubu Can Fix Nigeria.”
Ayade revealed he has been without any federal appointment for over three years despite his efforts, including generous donations to the party’s national convention and ongoing free transportation schemes as campaign support for the President’s second term.
He drew parallels with his previous withdrawals from contests in 2007 and 2015, stating that he eventually became a Senator and two-term Governor, and expressed confidence in destiny and divine timing.
While instructing his supporters not to purchase nomination forms for now so as not to be seen as disobeying the President, Ayade appealed to President Tinubu to revisit the order. He described yielding the ticket to a recent entrant from the opposition as “spiritual murder” and a case of “victory in cowardice.”
Ayade nevertheless pledged that he and his supporters would support all APC candidates and work with the President and the state governor to deliver the party in the 2027 elections if the order stands.
The development has thrown the Cross River North Senatorial race wide open, with Ayade’s main rival now having a clearer pa
th to the APC ticket.
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