A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and former chairman of the Labour Party in Cross River State, Austine Ibok, has defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Ibok, who announced his defection on Friday, also directed his supporters across the 196 wards in the state’s 18 local government areas to collapse their political structures into the APC.
He said his decision followed consultations with his family, political associates and supporters, as well as what he described as prevailing political realities and the interest of the state.
The former opposition chieftain cited what he described as a lack of cohesion, equity, justice, fairness and sincerity within his former party, particularly over zoning and other leadership decisions.
Ibok said his decision to support the Otu administration was based on what he described as its record in security, infrastructure, efforts to recover Cross River’s oil wells and the development of the Bakassi Deep Seaport Project.
“Our support is driven by performance, political reality, and the collective desire to secure a brighter future for Cross River State through effective and purposeful governance,” he said.