Tinubu asked me to drop Senate ambition

Former Cross River State governor, Ben Ayade, said President Bola Tinubu asked him to withdraw from the race for the Cross River North senatorial seat, a directive he described as painful but one he would obey.

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Mr Ayade disclosed this in a statement on Monday through his verified Facebook handle, saying the president’s position followed a “high-level national consultation” for which he was invited to Abuja.

“From the sequence of events that followed my return, Mr President wants me to withhold my Senate ambition. I yield to his request even as I pour tears of ill-treatment and agony,” the former governor said.

He, however, suggested that the president may not have been fully briefed on local political dynamics in Cross River, alleging that those benefiting from the directive were previously opposed to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

Mr Ayade accused unnamed political actors of turning churches against him and other APC members during the 2023 elections over claims of “Islamisation of Cross River State”, and of allegedly deploying violence at collation centres.

He said he remained loyal to the president and the APC despite what he described as years of political neglect since leaving office in 2023.

“I worked assiduously for the party… and delivered almost 40,000 votes above PDP in the presidential election, first in the history of our state,” he said.

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The former governor also highlighted his role in backing Mr Tinubu’s presidential ambition early, noting that he was among the first APC governors to support the president’s candidacy ahead of the 2023 election.

Mr Ayade appealed to the president to reconsider the directive, arguing that the reported beneficiary of the decision had already spent multiple terms in the National Assembly.

Political context

The Cross River North senatorial seat is currently occupied by Jarigbe Jarigbe of the APC, who is serving his second term after becoming a senator through a 2021 by-election.

Before his Senate election, Mr Jarigbe served two terms in the House of Representatives between 2015 and 2021. He is reportedly seeking another term in the Senate.

Mr Ayade, who governed Cross River from 2015 to 2023, defected from the PDP to the APC in 2021, a move seen by many as key to the APC’s eventual dominance in the state.

‘We will obey but seek review’

Despite his grievances, Mr Ayade asked his supporters to remain calm and respect the president’s authority.

He directed them not to purchase nomination forms for the senatorial race for now, citing the need to avoid acting contrary to the president’s instruction.

READ ALSO: SCORECARD: How Ayade met, left Cross River after eight years as governor

“It is better we err on the side of caution than to be seen to flaunt the order of Mr President,” he said.

He added that he and his supporters would continue to back the APC and work with the current Cross River Governor, Bassey Otu, to ensure electoral victories for the party if the directive is upheld.

Mr Ayade also framed his political trajectory as one guided by destiny, recalling that he had previously stepped down from contests in 2007 and 2015 before later becoming a senator and a two-term governor.

“We believe in destiny and the hand of God,” he said.

Over the weekend, the Chief Press Secretary to Mr Otu, Linus Obogo, confirmed that Mr Ayade had been invited by the presidency for consultations through an invitation posted on social media, an unusual move that sparked political speculations in the state.