Senator Ben Ayade’s dream of returning to the National Assembly in 2027 appears to be gaining some support, as some stakeholders from the Cross River North Senatorial District have started drumming support for the project.
Ayade, a former governor of Cross River State, had been on the senate seat before he became governor. His effort to return to the seat at the end of his tenure was thwarted by Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, who defeated him during the 2023 election.
Ahead of 2027, Ayade is seen to be nursing the ambition to return to the National Assembly. A few weeks ago, on his first visit to Calabar since 2023, a tumultuous crowd had received him at the Margret Ekpo International Airport.
Even though he has not made any public statement on his ambition, many of his constituents believe that with the backing of the governor, Senator Bassey Otu, Ayade stood a better chance to pick the APC ticket and eventually become the next senator for that senatorial district.
If he decides, to contest, he would have Jarigbe to contend with again. He may also face a former member of the House of Representatives, Legor Idagbo who is believed to be nursing same ambition.
But Dr Patrick Agbe, a chieftain of the APC in the senatorial district, believes that Ayade was the man to beat. According to him, the former governor was currently enjoying a groundswell of support from the senatorial district, based on the quality of leadership he showed when he was governor.
Agbe told TNN that it would be difficult for any other contender to pick the APC ticket for the zone because “with the effusion of time, people have come to realise that Ayade meant well for Cross River and specifically our senatorial district.
“Those APC leaders that will elect the candidate for that election now know better and you can be sure that the moment he gets the ticket, he is as good as winning the election. We can’t wait to see Ayade again in the senate.”
Also, Dr Inyali Peter, a former lecturer at the University of Cross River and prominent member of the party from the same region said on Tuesday that Ayade was likely to enjoy the backing of the governor to enable him return to the senate.
He said “with recent developments in Cross River State, the state is now fully integrated into the APC at the national level. This effectively returns us to the era when winning the ruling party’s primary was tantamount to winning the general election.
“Take the example of our current governor, Sen. Prince Bassey Otu. From the very beginning, many of us who knew his popularity, grassroots acceptance, and political goodwill believed that if the APC was going to retain Cross River in 2023, he was the only candidate who could make it happen.
“But, a lot of people wrote him off. They pointed to the fact that the he had been out of power for eight years, that he had made two unsuccessful attempts to return to the Senate, and that he supposedly lacked the financial “war chest” needed for a governorship race.
“Even the then incumbent governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, repeatedly declared publicly that he would never hand over to anyone older than himself. That declaration effectively ruled him out because he’s older than Ayade. But in the end, Governor Otu not only emerged as the candidate, he won the election convincingly. Today, that is history.
“The lesson here is that former governor Ben Ayade still has a realistic chance of securing the APC ticket in 2027 but that chance depends almost entirely on Governor Otu and, to a lesser extent, other party leaders within and outside the state.
“President Tinubu, being a listening leader who respects the office and person of sitting governors, may very well defer to Governor Otu’s plea and set aside whatever assurances he earlier gave Jarigbe, in order to allow Otu repay Ayade’s loyalty and support in 2023.”
Peter tried to paint a picture of what may happen in 2027. Hear him: “Sen. Jarigbe Agom’s dramatic defection to the APC, beginning with his surprise visit to President Tinubu to secure blessings and assurances has complicated the equation.
“ It will not be a tea party. However, just as Governor Otu successfully persuaded the President to reverse certain political appointments that were slated for the opposition, he can equally make a strong case to Mr. President that backing Senator Jarigbe (who fiercely opposed Otu’s emergence in 2023) over Ayade (the very man who anointed and supported Otu when almost no one gave him a chance) would amount to a grave political betrayal that the President may not want on his record.”
He however said apart from Ayade and Idagbo, a third force may spring a surprise. “There is also a possible third-force scenario. Rt. Hon. Legor Idagbo, who enjoys a very warm relationship with the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, could become the beneficiary if, for any reason, including the rumoured frosty relationship between the President and Ayade, the President decides it cannot be Ayade. In that case, Legor, widely seen as neutral and untainted by the current rivalries, becomes the natural fallback.”
But then, he reasoned that “Ayade has a chance; in fact, a strong one. Paradoxically, Jarigbe’s entry into the APC may have inadvertently improved Ayade’s prospects, because it gives Governor Otu a compelling reason to push hard for Ayade as the “loyalty reward” candidate.
That said, it is still far from uhuru for anyone, not Ayade, not Jarigbe, and certainly not Legor. In Cross River APC today, the ticket is Governor Otu’s to give, withhold, or redirect. Whatever he decides, with the support or understanding of the president, will very likely stand.”
