In a major political shift, key members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Calabar Municipal Local Government Area of Cross River State have defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Among the defectors are PDP stalwart Francis Effiom and several of his supporters.
The move comes as a show of support for Governor Bassey Otu’s administration. Bernard Iso, former Ward-8 Chairman and one of the defectors explained that their decision was motivated by the governor’s efforts to improve the lives of the people in their community.
“This decision is predicated on what is so obvious. The governor of Cross River State, Prince Bassey Otu, has shown capacity and willingness to touch the lives of the people. I am talking about my ward, Ward 8, Ikot Ansa, Calabar Municipal Local Government Council,” said Iso.
Iso praised the governor’s rapid achievements within his first year in office, highlighting two key road projects in their community. “Within the first year that Senator Bassey Otu became governor, he had fixed two major roads in my community. One is the road leading to the highway through zone 6 to the NPC depot, to the port side via the industrial park where you have the bulk of the tank farms in Calabar. That road used to be almost inaccessible until Prince Bassey Edet Otu became governor. Today, it has become a dual carriageway from Murtala Mohammed Highway to the Calabar River where it terminates,” he noted.
Iso also commended the governor for completing the first phase of the Ndidem Usang Iso Bolivat road, which begins in their community, as well as restoring the long-abandoned Asim Itah Street.
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Addressing PDP members who have yet to make the switch, Francis Effiom said: “If we, who are the pillars of the PDP, up to the ward leader Ntufam Bernard Iso, myself, the ward chairman of PDP Francis Asi, the entire ward structure of PDP, have moved today into the APC, every other person should just flow inside.”
The defectors expressed their commitment to the APC by singing solidarity songs, holding brooms, and chanting the slogans of the ruling party as they pledged loyalty to their new political home.
