Members of the Cross River State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rolled out drums to welcome its chairman, Mr. Venatius Ikem as he resumed office.
Party members were in high spirits when they saw Venatius Ikem arrive the premises of the PDP secretariat in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, southern Nigeria.
Overwhelmed by the show of solidarity and the warm welcome, Ikem, who was recently reinstated as chairman of the Cross River State chapter of the party by the National Working Committee (NWC), pledged to clinch the state from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
While addressing party members, Ikem reiterated that the PDP was the only party with the capacity to give Cross River State the much needed development across all sectors.
He said, “thank you all for bringing our party back to the path of unity and sanity. I am overwhelmed by the reception and want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart.”
Continuing, he stated, “I have consulted widely with party leaders and I owe nobody any grudge.
“I promise you that I will change my ways and believe me, we will do a lot of things differently,” he pledged.
To further convince party members of his renewed zeal and determination to succeed in 2027, Ikem advised, “let what happened to me, my going and coming back be a lesson that we can fall and rise again.
“Our party may have fallen, but has not fallen completely, only stumbling. We will rise again to take our rightful place in the state and country,” he assured.
The State Working Committee comprising 14 members and 18 local government area party chairmen suspended Venatius Ikem on allegations of misappropriation of funds, high handedness and inability to manage the state’s chapter of the PDP.
Although the suspension was nullified by the NWC, the PDP state chairman publicly apologised to the aggrieved party members at a recent reconciliatory meeting convened at the instance of the senator representing the northern senatorial district of Cross River State, Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe.
At the meeting, he promised to adopt an inclusive, people oriented and stronger leadership style and thanked the convener, Senator Jarigbe for his role in resolving the crisis and ensuring party unity.
Lateefah Ibrahim
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