Izuchukwu Okosi
Cross River state Governor Ben Ayade on Friday cleared the air on what led to his decision of defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The state’s Chief security officer also highlighted his lofty achievements in the area of unemployment challenges and calls on the media to provide positive feedback on governance.
The Federal High Court in Abuja rescheduled the judgement on a suit filed against Ayade over his last year’s defection.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo had earlier fixed Wednesday for his verdict but postponed it till Thursday to consider the significance of the latest decision of the Court of Appeal in Enugu, Enugu State, on the implication of the defection of a governor and his deputy as witnessed in the case of Ebonyi Governor Dave Umahi and his deputy.
Governor Ayade was on Arise TV’s The Morning Show to speak to Nigerians who may have contrary opinions about his move.
Responding to a question from one of the hosts, Ayade was visibly enraged by the line of the question.
In reference to the assertion of the PDP Party Chairman Iyorchia Ayu that there could have been a different reason for his ‘cross carpeting’ of party affiliations, Ayade responded thus:
“First, your use of the word ‘lie’ is inappropriate in a public discourse. You have a different view and perception of this,” Ayade told one of the hosts.
“I had a reason for leaving. I left because I needed to support the President at the center. It doesn’t stop us from having some essential challenges that I find not essentially important. But at this level you may see it as essentially important to you. So I feel the perception is completely wrong, we are looking at it from a different cycle.
“His views (Ayu) are right, my views are very correct. But he didn’t lie at all because especially if you look at defection whether there’s a division. How do you establish division?
“There was a division because we had a while lot of court cases between Cross River state government, the Congresses and a whole lot of things. So in his own view, those ones were strong enough for issues calling for defection but for me those were petty, I have been contending with them.”
Pressed further on the issue, the Governor went further to give reasons for joining the APC.
“I left the party because I thought that l I was wasting my energy and time in a state that was stranded financially.
“I needed to consult at the center – to struggle to complete great dreams. I am building the biggest pharmaceutical company in the country. I am building the biggest dual carriage road done by any governor in the country,” Ayade said.
“On the issue of unemployment, we had unemployment for 35 years. I lifted the embargo,” Ayade claims as he countered the statistics that show 54.3% of unemployment rate in the state.
“I am the one who created five thousand (5,000) jobs for teachers, eighteen thousand (18,000) political appointees, thirty nine (39) commissioners instead of thirteen (13) that I met.
“I expanded government and put food on tables. Five hundred (500) new APC appointments when I defected to APC, provided Thirty thousand naira (30,00) for Supplementary Support Service as a social service programme to put food on the table.
“Unemployment does not disappear by legislation or pllolicy but by action and that is why those industries and factories are being birthed.
“I need your support to market them. And be positive so that concessioners can take them. If you know the income of Cross River state, you will call me a magician,” Ayade stressed.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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