A former Governor of Cross River state, Mr. Donald Duke, yesterday said he was indifferent to the recent defection of the current Governor of the state, Prof. Ben Ayade, to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Duke, in a statement he personally signed, also disclosed that he returned to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) close to a year ago, adding however, that he never left the ideals of the party, even when he was away.
“Dear Friends, a lot is being said about my return to the PDP. Truth is, I reunited with the party almost a year ago now, but in spirit never left the ideals for which the party was founded upon,” he said.
He described as unfortunate the governor’s decision to dump the opposition PDP, stressing that Ayade had constantly egged him to re-join the party, but now has cause to leave.
“This is a rather unfortunate decision, which I neither support nor condemn, as I’m not privy to the details except his complaints of being stifled and unappreciated by the leadership of the party and certain elements of Cross River state origin in Abuja,” Duke stated.
He recalled that in their mid-thirties and buoyed by optimism and faith in the state and the nation, himself, the governor and a few others took a plunge into the unknown world of politics, saying that providence smiled at them and thrust them into the limelight of leadership.
According to Duke, in Cross River state, his group took on the establishment and won a razor thin victory in 1999, but through firm and adroit leadership and adherence to the democratic principles of inclusion they soon brought largely all the political class in the state under the PDP.
He emphasised that by 2007, the state was perhaps the most entirely PDP state in Nigeria, adding that however that post-2007, the party’s fortune started ebbing.
He maintained that an autocratic leadership style emerged, communication with the party’s followers declined and emergence in the party was determined largely not by the party constitution or structures but by the whims of the state’s chief executive.
According to the former governor, this was the structure that Ayade inherited and has largely led the party to where it is today.
Duke argued that the very top-down political style he fought against prior to 1999, instead of consultation, accommodation and inclusion reared its head to the extent that founding members of the party in the state, including former state chairmen, senators, members of the National Assembly and himself, over-time opted out.
He insisted that the attrition had continued unabated to the extent that the governor himself had left to seek pasture elsewhere.
The former governor expressed the belief that it is important to provide the same opportunities that democratic inclusion afforded them as young politicians to other young people as they prepare to take over the mantle of leadership.
“It is my hope that we all have learnt the lessons of the past couple of years. Our nation begs for sincere and committed leadership. We can and must do better.
“There is no room nor time for egoistic pandering but selfless service and this, is what the times deserves,” he stated.
THIS DAY
