The senator representing Cross River North, Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, has replied former Governor Ben Ayade, that he contested the 2023 presidential primaries and lost to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, contrary to his false narrative that he supported the president.
In his words “He lost woefully, refused to step aside, and then lost his state to the opposition. Why is he lying?”
Sen Jarigbe accused Ayade of distorting facts, spreading falsehoods, and desperately attempting to rewrite his declining political legacy.
In a statement, signed by the lawmaker, Jarigbe dismissed Ayade’s recent claims as “blatant lies,” accusing the former governor of hypocrisy, ethnic bias, and political irrelevance.
Jarigbe alleged that Ayade once mocked his Hausa traditional attire, describing it as evidence of “split personality,” and said such conduct exposed deep resentment toward Muslims, contrary to Ayade’s current posturing.
“A man who openly derided Muslim traditional attire cannot suddenly present himself as a defender of Muslims,” Jarigbe declared, insisting that Muslim voters across Cross River North overwhelmingly supported him over Ayade.
The senator refuted Ayade’s claims, and reminded the public that even while Ayade served as sitting governor, his political machinery suffered humiliating defeats in Cross River North.
Jarigbe posited that “While in the opposition, we delivered the Senate seat, two House of Representatives seats, and four House of Assembly seats, while Ayade could secure only his immediate constituency.
“We are not political weaklings. We come with real votes because we have worked for our people,” Jarigbe asserted.
Jarigbe accused Ayade of abandoning the Senate seat out of personal ambition, despite existing political expectations that power should rotate to the North, describing him as entitled and disconnected from present political realities.
The lawmaker clarified that Ayade defected from the PDP to APC only after losing control of the PDP structure, insisting his defection was driven by political survival rather than party loyalty. “Senator Ayade deserves no reward. He emptied our treasury and now seeks another chance to deprive our people,” Jarigbe charged.
Jarigbe praised APC leadership for resisting any attempt to impose Ayade on Cross River North, declaring that the former governor has been thoroughly rejected by the people. “He remains a political disaster, and our people will never vote for him again,”
He mocked Ayade’s social media conduct, daring him to reopen public comments on his posts to witness what he described as overwhelming public rejection.
Addressing zoning, Jarigbe outrightly rejected Ayade’s narrative, insisting there has never been formal zoning for the Cross River North senatorial seat.
“No matter how you embellish a lie, it will never become the truth,” He added.