The weekend congress of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Cross River State, which returned Venatius Ikem as chairman, has continued to generate controversy within the political space.
While party leaders hailed the process as transparent and valid, critics dismissed it as a recipe for more internal wrangling.
Supporters of the exercise, including former governorship candidate Prof. Sandy Onor, ex-Deputy Governor Effiok Cobham and businessman Arthur Jarvis, described the congress as properly supervised by officials delegated from the office of the National Organizing Secretary.
Senator Jarigbe Agom added that Ikem’s emergence reflected the will of “98 per cent” of members across the state.
However, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state has taken a different view. One of its chieftains, Dr. Peter Iyali, rejected the outcome, insisting the process was factional and lacked the approval of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC).
He warned that such a development could result in parallel leadership structures at both state and national levels.
Iyali recalled that the PDP national leadership had earlier dissolved the Ikem-led executive, arguing that its tenure had expired and handing control of the party’s affairs in Cross River to the South-South Zonal Committee.
He further advised Senator Jarigbe to focus on securing his party’s nomination for future elections rather than assuming the APC felt threatened by his influence. Iyali said the APC remained confident, pointing to the Deputy Governor’s recent grassroots engagements in the Northern Senatorial District as evidence of the ruling party’s widening reach.
Despite the conflicting claims, PDP leaders maintain that the exercise was in line with party guidelines, while the APC continues to portray it as a futile venture that will only deepen the crisis in the state chapter.
