‘I Am Not Proud To Be PDP Chairman’ – Says Cross River Chair, Ikem

The chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Cross River State, Vena Ikem, has expressed his regret for the numerous challenges facing the party under his leadership.

Ikem, who said he is not proud to be the leader of a party which failed to win the 2023 governorship election and lost many members, suggested that they plan to completely overhaul the party to make a comeback in the coming election.

He mentioned that the party still has remarkable backing from the local communities.

Naija News reports that Ikem made these remarks while addressing attendees at a meeting of the party’s stakeholders, held in Calabar, during the weekend.

He pointed out that their defeat in the 2023 governorship race was due to internal conflicts and a lack of unity within the party.

“We’re going back to rejig our party. We’re going to put things in place. I am not proud to be a chairman who lost governorship elections in the state, but I am proud that I come from a zone where we did a bit differently.

“We went for the election with a divided house. This assisted our opponents in winning key positions, including the governorship. We were a divided house, which couldn’t have stood. We had taken the support and success we enjoyed for granted,” the Cross River State PDP chairman noted.

Ikem boasts, however, that the party remains strong at the grassroots, noting that he takes responsibility for the outcome of the last election and the way things turned out.

The PDP chair appealed to party stakeholders to now look beyond personal interests, saying there are challenges they need to overcome.

“We need to reason with each other. There’s still enthusiasm for the PDP and we will definitely bounce back,” Ikem added.

During the gathering, Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, the senator for the Northern Senatorial District, shared his joy that important supporters continue to support the party even when faced with challenges.

Jarigbe mentioned that the governing party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), is not perfect, emphasizing the need to stay resolute by capitalizing on the errors the APC is likely to commit.

“APC took over due to the mistakes that we made. I don’t think that the APC is infallible. They will definitely make the same mistakes, and that will pave the way for us to take over,” Jarigbe stated.

During his speech, the candidate for PDP’s governorship position in the 2023 election, Prof. Sandy Onor, encouraged his supporters within the party not to be discouraged by the setbacks the party experienced in the governorship election of the previous year.

He promised them that the party would definitely recover and regain its strength.