By Sylvia Akpan, Government House Correspondent
The Senator representing Cross River Northern Senatorial District, Sen. Jarigbe Agom has countered the former Governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade, says he is distorting facts.
Recall that Ayade who indicated interest in returning to the National Assembly as the Senator representing Cross River North district, a position he held in the 7th Assembly between 2011 and 2015 was invited by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a high-level political engagement and consultation of significant national and strategic importance.”
This meeting halted his leadership forum screening organised by the State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Ogoja for National Assembly aspirants.
Following the outcome of the visit, the former Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, disclosed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu directed him to withdraw from the upcoming Senate race, a request he says he has reluctantly accepted despite deep personal disappointment.
READ MORE: #CRDecides2027:President Tinubu Asked Me To Drop Senate Ambition – Ayade Speaks
According to him, the President’s instruction effectively halts his ambition to represent Cross River North in the Senate.
“I yield to his request even as I pour tears of ill treatment and agony,” Ayade said, suggesting that the decision may have been influenced by political actors whom he accused of previously opposing him and the APC in the state.
He alleged that some beneficiaries of the directive had, in the past, campaigned against him and the ruling party, including mobilising religious sentiment and, in some cases, violence during elections. He claimed these individuals were now being favoured despite their opposition history.
Reacting, Sen. Jarigbe dismissed Ayade’s recent claims regarding his political contributions and alleged marginalisation within theAPC, insisting that the former Governor lacks both credibility and electoral value.
He faulted Ayade’s remarks on religious politics, alleging that the ex-governor had previously shown resentment toward Muslims. He claimed Ayade once criticised him for wearing Hausa traditional attire, describing it as evidence of a “split personality.”
“A man who admonished me for dressing in Hausa attire cannot claim to love Muslims more than I do,” Jarigbe stated, adding that Muslim voters in Cross River North supported him over Ayade in past elections.
The lawmaker also challenged Ayade’s assertion that he played a key role in delivering electoral victory for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023. According to Jarigbe, Ayade not only contested and lost the APC presidential primary but also failed to secure victory for the party in Cross River State during the general election.
He further argued that Ayade’s defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC was not driven by loyalty but by political survival, claiming the former governor had already lost control of the PDP structure in the state before his exit.
Stressing on the past electoral outcomes, Jarigbe maintained that his political base remains strong, noting that his camp had previously secured multiple legislative seats in the senatorial district, even while Ayade was serving as governor.
The lawmaker also rejected claims of zoning arrangements for the Cross River North senatorial seat, describing them as false narratives aimed at justifying Ayade’s ambition.
In one of his harshest criticisms, Jarigbe accused Ayade of mismanaging state resources during his tenure as governor and warned against any attempt to return him to public office.
“He emptied our treasury and now seeks another opportunity,” he alleged. The third term lawmaker further urged Ayade to align with the current leadership of the APC in the state and work for the party’s collective interest, rather than, “embellishing lies.”
Read the full statement below:
Senator Ayade Distorts Facts: We Put The Facts Right
A man who admonished me for dressing in hausa traditional attire and referred to my hausa outfit as a display of a split personality, cannot claim to be a lover of the muslims more than me. He displayed resentment for the muslims, even registered his dislike for the traditional attire used by muslims. Senator Ayade should stop his lies. The muslims in Cross River north voted for me against Ayade. He is known for ethnic jingoism.
Ayade lost Cross River north to us, when I was in PDP. We won my senate seat, two House of Representatives seats and four House of Assembly seats. Senator Ayade as sitting governor, won only the house of assembly seat in his immediate state constituency. We are not political weaklings. We come with votes. We have votes for the party, because we have worked for our people.
Senator Ayade lied when he said he worked for Mr. President in 2023. He took part in the presidential primary election and lost woefully to PBAT. He refused to step down. In the general election, he lost Cross River state to the opposition. Why is he lying?
Ayade quit the Senate seat to go for governorship, when it was the turn of the north to produce a Governor. he feels too entitled, even when he is of no political value at the moment. I am surprised that he is quoting the bible selectively but I want him to look at lamentations 3:36 and 37. When he was governor, he forgot God.
Let it be on record that, Senator Ayade only left PDP for APC, after we collected the PDP structure from him. He felt empty, displaced and dejected. he did not leave for the love of APC. Senator Ayade deserves no reward. He emptied our treasury and wants another opportunity to deprive our people of effective representation.
The President will give appointments to realistic people and not those who build castles in the air.
Senator Ayade knows that our people have rejected him and we thank the leadership of the APC for not trying to foist him on our people. He remains a political disaster and our people will never vote for him again.
Senator Fayade just made a post and blocked people from commenting. I dare him to unblock and see the comments from the public.
There has never been zoning in the senatorial seat of Cross River north. When was the senate seat zoned to Ogoja? Did I get to the senate through zoning? no!
No matter how you embellish a lie, it will not become the truth.
We advise Senator Fayade to come and join hands with the leadership of the state and work for the party, just as we worked for him and made him senator for 4 years and governor for 8 years.
Long live APC
Long live the leadership
Dist Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe
Cross River north Senatorial district
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