There is no doubt that Governor Ben Ayade will have his seat on the high table in Cross River post 2023. He definitely will, as a former governor of our State. But he will not be able to lead the Northern senatorial district post 2023.
Our governor has failed fantastically in office and has lost so much goodwill among majority of Cross Riverians, such that even a successor planted by him will not respect him for long. The future of Northern Cross River cannot be handed to the leadership of a failed leader.
The moment he leaves office and drops his executive powers and becomes incapable of dispensing any favors again, all his current hangers on will move on to the next food on the table.
Even if he is appointed Minister, he will be as ineffective back home as the current one from our State. Even Ayade’s predecessors that left office with a higher percentage of goodwill are struggling really hard to stay afloat politically, not to talk of a man the entire country will only remember for his verbose grammar.
The domineering nature of the governor and his congenital compulsive desire to control everything, will push him to continue to rule Cross River State from his house after 2023 and that will set him on collision course with his successor, even if it is Franko, his younger brother.
It is clear that the next governor will not come from the North. The North will necessarily need a political leader that the next governor will not only have plenty of respect for, but will also have it in mind that if he or she refuses to take that leader serious, the North will be lost. Ayade will not be able to command that level of respect having failed to do so many things he promised even his own people.
The fear of that emptiness and loss of relevance after office is driving our governor into panic mood. He is preying on surrogates and proxies to secure places for him in advance.
He is making a lot of unforced errors and his political decisions and choices continue to divide even his owner inner circle. He characteristically doesn’t consult. He is bullish, and those are not the best ingredients of a leader of the people.
I believe without any doubt in my mind that, after the exit of Ayade from office as our governor, Senator Jarigbe Agom will be the rallying point for Cross River North for sometime to come. The way he is penetrating the five LGAs of the North with constituency interventions, make him an irresistible choice even for those of us from across the isle.
Whether they believe it or not, Senator Jarigbe Agom shoved the governor out of favor in their former party and forced him out. Majority of the people in the North are obviously standing with the Senator, including many who are working with Ayade. They are just waiting for the days of the governor to keep thinning out.
That is the more reason we do not need another Caretaker Senator in Northern Cross River. Even the former caretaker boys are angry because they thought caretaker will still try his luck.
Remember they had vowed to “reclaim” the seat before the governor fall their hand. They are angry. Many more within the governor’s camp are upset because they are taken aback by oga’s decisions and more will continue to manifest their fury as the days count. And so shall their procession continue to Golgotha.
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