Ndoma-Egba Set to Change the tide of APC in Cross Rivers?

Former Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma Egba is said to be a man of integrity with an impeccable character which is worthy of emulation. Those who admire him said he has tried a lot to have swallowed the huge volume of vinegar served him prior to his exit from the 7th Senate by the state leadership of his former party, the PDP.

A month ago some major newspapers were awashed with screaming headlines speculating that the former PDP “Big Fish” was going to move to the APC where he could comfortably and freely play politics without being maligned.

The 59years old University of Lagos product who was elected into the senate to represent the Cross River State people of the central senatorial district on the platform of the then ruling PDP in 2003 subsequently rose to the rank of Senate Leader in 2011 after playing along with almost all the intrigues in the red chamber of the National Assembly .

It was late last year that his former political ally, Liyel Imoke who was governor of Cross River state used the PDP fiat and machinery against Ndoma Egba in the run up to the 2015 general elections. National Mirror learnt that Ndoma Egba`s ordeal started when Imoke ganged up with some cabals of the PDP in the state to oust and debar him from returning to the senate.

This scenario brought resentment into the PDP causing the party to become factionalized with one faction under the control of the senator while the other controlled by Imoke and John Owan Enoh Bassey Eko Ewa, a House of Representatives member for Abi/Yakurr. One of Ndoma Egba`s supporters, Etta Takon is quoted as saying that for Imoke to actualized his ambition of thwarting Ndoma Egba`s aspiration to go back to the Senate in 2015, the former governor had to engage adversarial methods.

This was instructive as any effort to stop the senator would have hit the brickwall because of Ndoma Egba’s huge home base support. As a result of this, Imoke secretly got Hon. John Owan Enoh , now Senator for that senatorial district prepared for the duel to arm-twist Ndoma Egba and seize power from him.

Enoh Owan is also perceived by Imoke as being a man who can match Ndoma Egba in all fronts given the fact that the former House member has a strong financial base needed to launch such attack on a ranking, famous and third time senator like Ndoma. John Enoh was also at that time a third time Reps member.

Those conversant with the polity and political development in the senatorial district said that Imoke`s claims that Ndoma-Egba had overstayed in the Senate is because he was no longer comfortable because Ndoma Egba’s replacement, John Enoh Owan had also spent three terms at the Reps?

They wondered if Reps is not also part of the National Assembly? Again, Imoke`s critics said that another issue that brought about Ndoma Egba `s grouse was the issue of Ward Congresses where his faction emerged victorious but the congresses were mischievously cancelled in a very controversial circumstance just to scheme him and his supporters who vied for other offices out of the contest.

The development completely shut his supporters and himself out of PDP. The senator’s defection to the ruling APC has continued to generate enough discourse lately thus making it possible for the quasi and pseudo political pundits to trivialize the issue. His movement to the APC has also stirred up so much accolades in several quarters amongst Cross Riverians who were already aggrieved with the way and manner Imoke and the cabal conducted the PDP accusing the erstwhile Gov. of mismanaging and overstretching the fortunes and affairs of the PDP in the state. Ndoma Egba in one of the media chats said he was merely joining the APC to provide leadership, as his character, integrity and political reach at the centre is needed in Cross River APC.

He was also quoted to have said that he was shut out by Imoke and his cohorts from the state activities for three years, a development that became unbearable to the political bigwig. Some of his followers also claimed that the events that preceded the 2015 elections, ward congresses were conducted in 2014 and Senator Ndoma-Egba’s line-up originally emerged victorious while the then State Governor’s line-up lost but Imoke with the help of former president Goodluck Jonathan changed the result.

Whereas the same scenario played out in Enugu State between Senator Ike Ekweremadu and the then Enugu State Governor, Sullivan Chime and a political settlement was brokered at the instance of PDP where Ekweremadu retained his Senate seat and the Governor took the rest.

The aggrieved Ndoma- Egba supporters asked, Why wasn’t same done in the case of Cross River? Why did PDP ordered total cancellation of the result of the ward congresses conducted by a committee it sent and chaired by a man of impeccable character, Alhaji Shuaibu Oyedokun, even when the case was still pending at the Federal High Court, Abuja? Why was Senator Victor Ndoma- Egba SAN, then Senate Leader, singled out to be maligned?

These are questions which answers are needed from the leadership of the PDP at the national and the state level. However Ndoma- Egba supporters are yet to rest on their oars as their claims are that their boss cannot prematurely be retired from politics by anybody, given the fact that PDP is not the only party existing in the country.

They believe that since Nigeria has more than thirty political parties and that any one so long as he or she is a Nigerian has equal right to play the politics using any of the platforms, so they cannot be intimidated or deprived by any one from joining a political party of their choice.

However the State PDP chairman, Ntufam John Okon in recent times seems to be having a remorse over the exit of Ndoma Egba out of the PDP to the APC. Okon said PDP will miss the former Senate Leader.

Though, it was the expectation of many party leaders for the party chairman to intervene and wade into the crises. Not quite long, the Central Senatorial district caucus of the APC formed a committee which was led by the state Vice Chairman of the APC central and former Cross River state House of Assembly member representing Boki state constituency, Hon.Cletus Obun to mount pressure on Ndoma Egba to decamp to the APC.

Part of their reasons for the pressure was that they were not happy the way Ndoma Egba was treated by the state leadership of the party even though some of his persecutors had one or two of their relatives in Ndoma Egba`s list of beneficiaries of his scholarship scheme which had been on-going since his stay at the senate. Secondly they said with a man like Ndoma Egba, the APC can become strengthened within the state and perhaps in the South South geo-political zone.

Only last week Ndoma Egba gave in and accepted the offer. Those who admired the senator said that the senator was principled enough not to have taken the mandate of PDP to another Party as that was what played out then.

He instead chose to remain in PDP to exhaust his mandate to the displeasure of many of his supporters who pleaded with him to decamp before the elections but refused. Political pundits said that with Ndoma Egba’s final move into the APC with his ardent supporters, the PDP would have to work extra hard in future election.