SAN cautions APC against overconfidence in C’River

Mr Mba Ukweni, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart in Cross River, has warned the APC-led government

By Christian Njoku

Mr Mba Ukweni, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart in Cross River, has warned the APC-led government in the state against being over-presumptuous.

Ukweni made the call on Monday during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). He was reacting to claims by Gov. Bassey Otu’s aides that the PDP was dead in Cross River.

The governor’s aides made this declaration at a news conference on Friday, March 7. They also passed a vote of confidence in the governor, claiming he had accommodated other parties and deserved a second term.

Ukweni, however, dismissed their claim as wishful thinking. He said a party with structures from local to national levels could not be dead.

“PDP remains Nigeria’s most organised party. All present members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River, including the current chairman, were once PDP members.

“The same reasons they left PDP could make them leave APC tomorrow. Being overpresumptuous is unwise because even the governor cannot predict his political future,” he said.

As a PDP leader in Biase LGA, he noted that there are deliberate efforts to weaken the party, but insisted that such efforts will not succeed.

He said PDP’s challenges in the state could have been avoided if it had followed his legal advice before the 2023 general elections.

According to him, the party would have performed better if key members like Sen. Sandy Onor, Sen. Gershom Bassey, and Mr Daniel Asuquo had cooperated.

Instead, he said, they all wanted to be governor and ignored advice. This, he claimed, contributed to the party’s struggles in the state.

He affirmed his commitment to PDP, rejecting “political prostitution.” If he ever left politics, he said, he would resign and continue his legal practice rather than join APC.

NAN reports that Cross River was governed by PDP from 1999 until May 2021, when then-Governor Ben Ayade, who was elected on PDP’s platform, defected to APC. (NAN)