By Our Reporter
CALABAR (CONVERSEER) – The Grassroots Democratic Alliance (GDA) has slammed the Southern Senatorial District Caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), accusing its leaders of betrayal and colluding with opposition forces.
In a statement signed by GDA Chairman Effiom Bassey and Secretary Ntui Agbor, the group dismissed the Caucus’s rejection of Barrister Venatius Ikem as the work of “desperate politicians who sold their birthrights for a plate of porridge in the last elections and can never again be trusted with the soul of the PDP.”
The GDA stressed that Ikem’s tenure extension followed due process under the party’s constitution, highlighting his proven record in public service, unlike his detractors.
The Caucus’s promotion of Barrister Tim Ekawu was branded a “joke” and an “ADC-sponsored impostor” aimed at destabilising the PDP. Ekawu, the group said, defied the State Working Committee and engaged in anti-party activities.
“Since 1999, Ekawu has contested and lost every election he entered. He lacks the pedigree or support to lead even a ward, let alone the PDP in Cross River State,” the statement charged.
The GDA further condemned Ekawu’s promoters as masquerading as PDP members secretly plotting with the ruling government via ADC platforms.
The Alliance also highlighted the absence of key Southern Caucus leaders, including former Deputy Governor Effiok Cobham, former National Assembly members Hon. Essien Ayi and Hon. Etta Mbora, and all six local government PDP chairmen.
“This meeting was a gathering of a drowning cartel whose time has expired. They have isolated themselves from the legitimate structures of the party,” the GDA warned.
The group concluded that the PDP’s future cannot be left in the hands of those who betrayed the party and abandoned their responsibility to strengthen it as a credible opposition.
