Shocking, Former Chairman Eba Dumps APC For PDP, Says System Humiliated Him
By Bassey BASSEY
The immediate past Cross River State chapter chairman, Alphonsus Ogar Eba, Esq, has finally dumped All Progressives Congress (APC) for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
This was disclosed in a statement released on Thursday, which read in part:
‘’Every generation must out of relative obscurity discover its mission, To fulfil or betray ‘’- Frantz Fanon
"In obedience to the will of our people and in total submission to my inner heart, guided by the direction of Almighty God, I have reflected and reexamined my mission on earth – a clear mission to fulfil destiny.
"From the cradle , particularly , my days of INFANT ACTIVISM, through my days of YOUTH ACTIVISM coupled with STUDENT ACTIVISM into JUDICIAL ACTIVISM and to my present day POLITICAL ACTIVISM which is rooted in POLITICAL EVANGELISM , I have seen the hands of God in everything I do because my trust has always been in God and God alone.
"My incursion into politics in 1991 in SDP during the 3rd Republic and in 1996 in UNCP in the aborted 4th Republic and in PDP in 1999 in the 4th Republic with a short detour to NDP in 2023, ANPP in 2011 , before my return to PDP in 2012 and later APC in 2021 , points to the incontrovertible fact that political parties are indispensable vehicles to drive the democratic process since the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria does not provide for Independent candidates
"What has however remained fundamentally constant in my political life is the grace of God upon me which is loaded in the superabundant gifts of Hard work, Humility, Honesty, Courage, Capacity, Competence , Confidence, Contentment, Gratitude and Intrepidity.
"Armed with the above qualities, I have always viewed my political mission as nothing more than Service to God and humanity. The great Philosopher, Socrates once said, ‘’An unexamined life is not worth living. I have therefore had to reflect on my last 10 years in public service , first as Director General of Due Process and Price Intelligence Bureau, Cross River State and later as Cross River State Chairman of APC . In both offices, reputedly, I left indelible marks in Governance and the party administration which has been highly acknowledged even by our worst critics.
"I have also reflected on the goodwill I enjoyed from our people across party lines and the unprovoked ill treatment meted to me and several leaders / followers by a system we worked so hard to install. But in all of these, our gratitude to God in Heaven , our political godfathers , godsons and all whose prayers, supports and kind wishes saw us through will never be forgotten.
"It is on record that , we decided to let go the unwarranted and unprovoked treatment meted to us and even when i have maintained a stoic and dignified silence, our silence was interpreted as cowardice.
"Even when we overlooked the illegal suspension and expulsion by my colleagues at the State Executive Committee of APC and the desperate dissolution of my leadership at the APC NEC on the 19th of December 2025 , which was just a decoy to remove me from office in flagrant disobedience of a subsisting Order of Court in my favour ; and despite keeping away from every APC activities and the attendant humiliation meted to me and my supporters from the ward to the state level ; even when I have since returned to my private legal practice in Abuja and quietly facing my farm work / other private businesses and having more time with my family, I cannot understand while a system I worked so hard in conjunction with other leaders to install have chosen the wicked path to perpetually silent my voice, completely make me irrelevant and have vowed to retire me from politics even at this young age of 50 when I still have a lot to offer my people, state and Nation.
"The intimidation and attack against me and my people and other persons who are non aligned with the system, has given me serious concerns and cause for me to worry about our collective future under this present democratic experience in our dear State.
"In the face of the unfolding quandary, I have looked up to God for direction, I have listened to the cries of my sincere supporters , whose loyalty especially in the last six (6) months of my political travails have been unwavering .
"I have had an appraisal over the invitation from the leadership of 3 different opposition political parties requesting us to commune and strengthen opposition political parties in Cross River State with a view to providing alternative platforms or a unified platform that can assist in holding the system to conform to the tenets of democracy and good governance.
"I have also listened to my inner heart and I have no option but to agree with the words of William Shakespeare in Julius Caesar where he stated , There is a tide in the affairs of men , which taken at the flood , leads on to fortune. Omitted , all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and miseries; On such a full sea are we now afloat, And we must take the current when it serves ; or lose our ventures'.
The bible in book of Psalms 37 : 23 says ‘’ ‘’The steps of the righteous are ordered by God’’ In John 10 : 13 , ‘’Greater Love a man has not than to lay down his life for his friend ; ‘’ his people and his state (emphasis mine).
"While I can no longer maintain my dignified silence in the face of the continuous subjugation and infractions on our Freedom of Expression , Association and Private life , exacerbated by intimidation, oppression and repression of people who hold contrary views against the system; while it is also politically incorrect for me to maintain such silence in the face of public outcry over wanton gluttonous political chicanery and the jiggery pokery , I decided to withdraw my membership of APC and requested for the delisting of my name from its hard copy and digital register on the 7th May 2026.
"Although my refusal to utter a word or complained in the last 3 years of this system may not be understood by many but it is borne out of tolerance, maturity and loyalty to the system which was flagrantly abused by them but as we commence our new round Political Evangelism to rebuild our new party and the many souls, we hope to win , majority of our people will see how handsomely justifiable this decision is. While not everyone is bound to agree with this decision because we majorly play establishments politics in Cross River State.
"Early in life , I was trained to know that extraordinary issues must be treated extraordinarily. I humbly call on our faithful supporters to please align with our vision, join us in this mission, pray for us to succeed in this journey because we have chosen Peace of mind above Pains, Pride over shame, Joy over Agony and Progress over Retrogression for ourselves and the people of our dear communities and Cross River State in general.
"For strategic political reasons, this decision was taken within a very limited consultative compass . I sincerely apologise to all my sincere leaders and followers whom we couldn’t reach before arriving at this decision.
"As a believer, I know that this mission is for our good and the good of our people and at the appropriate time , majority of our people will align to promote a genuine consensus for the liberation of our people from the shackles and manacles of this pestilential and diabolical political practice .
"The real Progressives across political party lines are coming together to redirect the present misdirection in the state .The leadership crisis in PDP at the National level has since been resolved by the Supreme Court, the task ahead is to rebuild the party at the state level in all the 3281 poling units , 196 political wards and 18 LGA in Cross River State.
I have humbly agreed to be one of the beast of burden and prolocutor towards the effectuation of this noble task.
"It is for tasks like this that I was born.
From dust I came, To dust I shall return.
From PDP I came , To PDP I have returned .
May God bless you all."
