I’m not Ayade’s boy, says Cross River lawmaker

The Senator representing Cross River North Senatorial District, Senator Jarigbe Agom, has denied being Governor Ben Ayade’s ‘boy’ as the governor allegedly claimed at a stakeholders’ meeting of the All Progressives Congress.

Responding to the Governor’s claim in a statement titled ‘Putting the Records Straight and Exposing the Lies of Gov Ayade’, Jarigbe said, “I am in my 50s and Ayade is in his 50s, from the records in his preferred Age Declaration. I never heard of the name, Ayade, in Cross River State, until I turned 36, when he came to run for the Senate Primary Election against Senator Greg Ngaji and I was running for the House of Representatives.

“He was asked not to run because he was a political neophyte and could not stand the storm of going against Sen Greg Ngaji. I took part in that House of Reps Primary election and it was skewed for Hon Gabe Edi. I came after Gabe in that primary election.

“It was later I got to know that Ben Ayade was the young man who was Hon Emma Ibeshi’s boy when Hon Emma Ibeshi was running for the House of Representatives in 1992.”

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Senator Jarigbe further stated, “At what point would I have been his boy, when I had already established a business in 1995 and bought my first car in 1996, during the military era? At that time, did Gov Ben Ayade own a bicycle? At what point did I become a boy to someone in my age bracket?

“I grew up in a proper home and was brought up to work hard. So I will not carry handbags for my peers. Ayade’s fantasy of being in a position to suppress and lord over people has to do with his psychology.

“God has made it impossible for me to belong to the group of people that will be subservient to him, even as Governor. For instance, he could not stop me from becoming a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. God rules in the affairs of men.

“Gov Ayade was in the Senate between 2011 and 2015, but did not see me in his office or home, asking for a favour, neither did he get a call from me soliciting for help. But we all supported him to go to the Senate.

“In 2015, when he came to run for Governor, I was in the forefront of the agitation, because I felt he was the highest political office holder from Cross River North. He was skeptical because there were no clear signals, but I urged him on. Then, I was in a position to appreciate the issues, better than he did. When he emerged as Gov, he always asked me, how I knew he was going to be Governor. He always wondered if I had a crystal ball.

“Today, out of puerile excitement and superiority complex, he has the effontery to refer to a serving Senator as his Boy. Why should a man lie to himself ?

“Ayade has asked that water boreholes be drilled in communities across the North, leaving out other Senatorial Districts, because he wants votes from the North to enable him win the Senate Seat. This is because I have provided Water for our people and I have become his ROLE MODEL.

“He will soon construct street lights, because I have done so. I have also completed the construction of some roads in Cross River North. He should also complete the only one he started in 2016, from Mfom to Obudu. It’s 6 years and running. It is a simple logic that, your Role Model cannot be your Boy.

“Ayade has come to fool us again, in an attempt at getting the Senate seat, because our people are vulnerable and most of us are impecunious. However, I know that God will reveal the truth, make our people strong and resilient so that Ayade will never happen to us again, as a people.

“Finally, power comes from God and He should choose between Ayade and I who will best serve the interest of our people.

“Getting paranoid because of just food will not help us. Ayade has made a lot of you guys build castles in the air for the past 12 years and it should be clear that you have been basking in the euphoria of an optical illusion.”