Christian Ita, Special Adviser, Media & Publicity to the Governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade said his principal “didn’t take part in any senatorial primaries.”
Gatekeepers News earlier reported that Governor Ayade lost the senatorial ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to another aspirant Adams Cecelia.
The report was backed with a result sheet which was signed by the Party’s Chairman, Primaries Committee, Ushie Innocent, and the Party’s Secretary Primaries Committee, Etia Peter on Saturday, 28th May 2022.
However, in a statement made available to Gatekeepers News, Governor Ayade’s media aide – Ita denied the government’s participation in the primary election.
The statement read in part, “The attention of the Cross River state government has been drawn to a video circulating in cyberspace purporting to be a parallel All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primaries for Northern Cross River where His Excellency, Professor Ben Ayade was listed as a participant.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we hereby state clearly that Governor Ayade did not take part in any senatorial primaries.”
Ita noted that his principal “is a presidential aspirant who will be taking part in the APC presidential convention now slated for June 6.”
“We make bold to say that the so-called parallel primary election as contained in the said video was at best a poorly scripted skit comedy shot by three persons sitting in a room.
“The sham video is indeed a joke taken too far. It was a vapid, infantile but failed attempt at manipulation as the clowns behind it tragically forgot to also manufacture ballot boxes, delegates, observers and APC panel members,” he said.
According to him, “It was a handiwork of political desperadoes who are out to embarrass the governor.”
He added, “We wish to assure teeming APC members and supporters, particularly in Northern Cross River, that there was no parallel Senatorial primaries in the district.
“The only valid and recognised senatorial primaries that took place in Ogoja and which was won by the former Chief of Staff to the Governor, Hon Martin Orim and which does not have Ayade on the ballot, was monitored by the INEC and representatives from APC’s National Secretariat.
“The purported video suggesting a parallel exercise should therefore be ignored.”
