Cross River: PDP members stage protest over ousted chairman

Members of the Cross River State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Monday stormed the party secretariat with various placards, protesting alleged plans to reinstate the ousted state chairman of the party.

It was gathered that the protest was carried out by the ward and local government chapters of the PDP across the state.

The protesters, armed with placards with various inscriptions, threatened to leave the party should the removed chairman, Mr. Venatius Ikem, be reinstated.

Some of the placards read: ‘Ikem must go’, ‘All ward and local government chapters rejects Vena’, and, ‘The decision of the Cross River State Working Committee (SWC) is the best for the party’.

According to the protesters, who were led by the Calabar Municipality chairman, Mr Bassey Asuquo, the removal of Ikem was the best thing to have happened to the party.

Asuquo said that the party faithful no longer wanted Ikem as the party chairman. His leadership had stagnated the growth of the party in Cross River, he added