Ayade, PDP Chair rascally lawless, says SAN

Chiemeka ADINDU, Calabar

As the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Cross River state chapter continues to heighten, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Mba Ukweni has described the state governor, Ben Ayade and the suspended chairman of the party, Inok Edim as rascally lawless people.

Ukweni said in an interview with TNN over the telephone that the faction of the party which was enjoying the support of the governor, which had approached the court, was still going against the provisions of the law.

He said: “They cannot take matters to court and still be behaving as if they have not gone to court. It means that they don’t even believe in the court they have gone to. That is lawlessness of the highest order. The national has brought out a list and has written to the state chairman to swear in these people and it is disrespect for the state chairman to disobey the national executive committee’s decision.

“Even if he had to complain, you obey first. You don’t expect your subordinates to obey you when you can’t obey the person on top of you. I don’t also see the possibility of a body that is not properly constituted going to suspend her members, including the Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, Hon. Efa Nyong Esua.”

He also spoke on the way and manner the primary for local government elections were conducted, accusing the governor and state chairman of filling the list without properly following procedures. He said it was the duty of the national body to conduct all the primaries, including that of councillors.

He also faulted the National body of the party for not properly investigating the issues earlier brought to them and for condoning the wrong things the governor has been doing in the state. He noted that the governor is acting the way he is acting because the national has refused to condone his current actions.

“All the governor wants is to have access to local government money. Political struggles are not for fun. We already have a pending matter in court that would have nullified the local government elections. There is no properly constituted Cross River State Electoral Independent Commission, CROSEIC to conduct elections.

“There are three government bodies that you don’t dissolve; CROSEIC, Judicial Service and Civil Service commissions; the governor dissolved all of them and went ahead to announce the date for local government elections which is not in his power to do. He made all those mistakes.”

The senior legal practitioner who is also a caucus member of the party further revealed that the governor only went to recall the dissolved CROSEIC chairman to conduct the election without following the appropriate procedures for reappointment.