A former Minister of Aviation and Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Femi Fani-Kayode, has threatened to dump the PDP, if the party structure in Cross River State is taken away from the Leadership of the Governor of the State, Ben Ayade, .
Fani-Kayode stated that it would be a big mistake for the PDP National Working Committee, NWC, to come to such a conclusion.
According to him, if the party forces Governor Ayade out of its fold, he will have no option than to leave too.
There is a running battle over who becomes the next Chairman of the PDP in Cross River State.
Governor Ayade and some party Chieftains, including a former Governor, Deputy Governor, National Assembly members, State Lawmakers, and former elected and appointed party Officers, are at loggerheads over who controls the party structure in the State, ahead of the 2023 election year.
While Ayade is backing Alphonsus Eba (a.k.a Okadigbo), for the State Chairmanship of the PDP, the other aggrieved groups are totally behind the former PDP National Publicity Secretary and former Commissioner, Venatius Nkem, in the State Chairmanship race.
Reacting to the situation however, Fani-Kayode tweeted: “It would be a big mistake for the NWC of the @OfficialPDPNig to take the party structures in his State away from Ben Ayade, Governor of Cross Rivers State, and hand them over to anyone else. If this is done and Ayade leaves the party, be rest assured that many of us will leave with him.
“You cannot and must not undermine a sitting Governor, or attempt to humiliate him in his own State and before his people. Some of those that are advocating and behind this nonsense, would never allow it to happen in their own States. A word is enough for the wise.
“No one, no matter how big or powerful, should think that they own the @OfficialPDPNig. If there is any attempt to undermine Ayade, it will spark off a crisis in the party that will split it right down the middle, and the consequences will not be limited to Cross Rivers State.”
