Cross River: PDP chieftains insist congress was legal as APC stalwart allege factionalisation
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Cross River State, Dr Peter Iyali, has faulted the weekend’s re-election of Venatius Ikem as the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, describing it as illegal and a move that will deepen the party’s crisis.
Iyali argued that the congress lacked legitimacy since it was conducted by a faction of the party without the approval of the National Working Committee, NWC.
He warned that the situation could result in two parallel executive committees and even competing NWC members at the national convention.
“It is important to clarify that the purported congress that produced Venatius Ikem, as PDP chairman in Cross River State is factional and lacks the backing of the PDP’s National Working Committee,” Iyali said.
He added that the APC was unconcerned about Ikem’s re-election, recalling that the PDP national leadership had directed the South-South Zonal Committee to take charge of the party’s affairs in the state.
Turning to Senator Jarigbe Agom, who represents Cross River North and is seen as the PDP’s leading figure for 2027, Iyali said the issue was not whether he could win re-election but whether the party would even field candidates at all, given its division.
Iyali advised Jarigbe and his supporters to focus on securing nominations instead of assuming the APC felt threatened. He pointed to the Deputy Governor’s recent tour of the Northern District as proof of APC’s growing momentum, which, according to him, likely prompted Jarigbe’s public show of loyalty to Governor Bassey Otu and the ruling party.
However, PDP leaders in the state have dismissed the APC’s position, insisting the congress was valid. The 2023 PDP governorship candidate, Prof. Sandy Onor, said a panel duly certified by the NWC, particularly from the National Organizing Secretary’s office, supervised the exercise.
Other PDP stalwarts, including former deputy governor, Effiok Cobham and ex-governorship aspirant Arthur Jarvis, also endorsed the congress, describing it as legal. Senator Jarigbe himself said Ikem’s emergence was not only legal but enjoyed the backing of “98 per cent of party faithful.”
It will be recalled that the PDP NWC had earlier dissolved the Ikem-led state working committee, insisting its tenure had expired and warning against the planned congress.