Cross River’s Governor Ayade says he will run for president if APC zone the office

GOVERNOR Ben Ayade of Cross River State has become that latest candidate to declare that he may be running for president in 2023 after announcing that he is considering seeking the presidential ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Elected on the platform of the main opposition the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015, Governor Ayade secured a second term in office in 2019. In May 2021, however, he defected to the APC along with deputy governor Professor Ivara Esu and the speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly Hon Eteng Williams Jones.

Yesterday, Governor Ayade announced that he will run for president in 2023 if the APC considers him. While responding to a question, the governor said the party should make the decision based on zoning.

Governor Ayade added: “I think the party should take a decision based on zoning principles, which would be resolved as a party.  If the APC family finds that I am fit and proper, yes but if the family finds that there is a better option and that option fits into the zoning arrangement, of course, I will stand by the party’s position.

“I am a conformist, I stand with the system. I have never been an aberrant and I work with the system.”