Donald Duke: Former Presidential Candidate Defects to PDP ahead of 2023
- The PDP has gained more strength as former Cross River state governor, Donald Duke, joined the party
- Duke's return to the PDP was confirmed on Wednesday, May 26, after days of speculations
- The development comes amid the defection of Governor Ayade to the ruling APC
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Donald Duke, a former governor of Cross River state has returned to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), The Punch reported.
The newspaper reported that the chairman of the PDP caretaker committee in the south-south state, Effiok Cobham, disclosed this on Wednesday, May 26, at a press briefing in Calabar.
Source: Twitter
When asked to confirm the speculations that the former governor had returned to the party, he said:
“Yes, he has registered.”
Legit.ng notes that Duke was in the PDP until 2018 when he left for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) where he emerged as the presidential candidate for the 2019 elections.
He was a two-term governor of Cross River between 1999 and 2007.
Meanwhile, the latest development follows the defection of Governor Ben Ayade to the All Progressives Congress.
The Cross River state governor made the announcement on Thursday morning, May 20, during a meeting with some APC governors who paid him a visit at the government house.
Governor Ayade during his announcement suggested that his defection would enable cross River state to benefit more from the federal government.
He credited President Muhammadu Buhari for his decision to dump the opposition PDP for the APC.
The Cross River state governor said the president has a nationalistic view hence, the reason why he joined the ruling party.
He said all governors should leave politics aside and do everything to commit themselves to the vision of the country.
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Reacting, the governor of Taraba state, Darius Ishaku, described the Cross River state governor's move as embarrassing and shocking to the opposition party.
He made this known on Thursday, May 20, after meeting with the president's chief of staff, Ibrahim Gambari, at the State House, Abuja.
According to him, governors elected on the platform of the PDP see themselves as an alternative to the APC, adding that they are all doing very well in their respective states.
Source: Legit.ng
