Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Deputy Governorship candidate in Cross River State in the 2024 general election, Dr. Emana Duke Ambrose-Amawhe, has explained why she joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the PDP.
Speaking at a ceremony held at her ward, Edem Odo in Akpabuyo Local Government Area on Friday, where she was formally received into the APC, Ambrose-Amawhe said the decision was taken in the best interest of Cross River State and its people.
Emana asserted that she was motivated to join the APC following the development strides carried out by the party at the state and national levels.
He said, “I’m excited to now be a part and parcel of the All Progressives’ family. I was a deputy governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party and a daughter of Cross River South. I took a decision to cross over to the All Progressives Congress. First off, seeing the good works my governor, His Excellency Bassey Otu, has been doing. It’s only the blind; even the blind hears when good things are happening.
“Then, at the national level, there are those who would say things are hard, the economy is not looking up, and all of that. I would like to tell them that nothing good happens overnight.
“The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has placed the right pegs in the right holes. Bit by bit, day after day, we are moving closer to an uptick in our economy. All the other good things put together, these are the reasons why I decided to come back to the All Progressives Congress as a Cross Riverian.”
She noted that her defection is not preempted by hunger or seeking an appointment but to work together with people in power in order to deliver the dividends of democracy to her grassroots, urging those still in opposition to join hands in building the state instead of being keyboard critics.
“I’m a nation-builder; that’s why I am now part of the APC. The thing is that nobody is being forced to join the APC. If there is going to be opposition, we need viable opposition parties.
“When the opposition parties are not able to put their acts together, and there’s a lot of dissension within the ranks of these opposition parties, it’s obvious they are not ready to do the business of the day. So, for me, I’m a business-minded person, so I go where people mean business, and they do not just mean business; they are working towards achieving those dreams.
“Don’t be a keyboard warrior, criticizing the government. Come in, bring your ideas, come and partner, come and join hands to build a better Cross River and a better Nigeria,” she stressed.
Welcoming the defectors, the state chairman of the APC, Barr. Alphonsus Eba, represented by the state secretary, Pastor Patrick Asikpo, warned them not to join the party with the mindset of coming to fight or cause coercion in the party, assuring them that all privileges accorded to every APC member are theirs henceforth.
“Let me assure you that a complicated peace is better than a small war. And today, all our brothers and our sisters have defected to a great party, APC. All privileges and what is meant for an APC member is accorded to you from today onward,” he said. “There is no new APC; there is no old APC. You are APC members from today onward.”
On his part, the former Minister of Tourism, High Chief Edem Duke, who is the ward leader of Edem Odo Ward in Akpabuyo Local Government Area, expressed optimism that 2027 will be a walkover for APC following the defection of such bigwigs.
“I feel very glad because this is the defection of the most senior political office holder, potentially, of the PDP. And for her to have come to the ward today sends a signal to the rest of that and other parties that the political family, the political architecture, and the political landscape of Cross River State has changed. And it is changing for the better and changing in favor of the APC.”
APC stalwarts who witnessed the defection include the Commissioner for Commerce, Dr. Abigail Duke, who is the deputy ward leader; the executive chairmen of Akpabuyo and Bakassi Local Government Areas; state executive members of the party; and chapter chairmen across other local government areas in the state.
