Former Cross River APC boss defects to PDP, rejoins old party

Alphonsus Eba, the immediate past Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Cross River State, has officially resigned from the party and rejoined the Peoples Democratic Party, marking a significant shift in his political allegiance.

n

As a lawyer and politician, Eba previously held the position of Director-General of the Cross River State Due Process and Price Intelligence Bureau before becoming the APC chairman in the state, bringing a wealth of experience to his role.

n

Prior to his departure from the APC, Eba was embroiled in a prolonged leadership crisis within the party in Cross River State, which had been ongoing for some time and showed no signs of abating.

n

In November 2025, the Forum of APC Local Government Chairmen and Secretaries demanded Eba's resignation, citing allegations of high-handedness, financial mismanagement, and failure to remit funds to party structures at the grassroots level.

n

The forum also accused Eba of sidelining party stakeholders and withholding stipends meant for ward and local government executives, further exacerbating the crisis within the party.

n

The situation escalated in December 2025, when 30 out of 32 members of the party's State Executive Committee passed a vote of no confidence in Eba and announced his removal as state chairman, dealing a significant blow to his leadership.

n

The party subsequently appointed Ntufam Ekum Ojogu, the deputy chairman, as acting chairman, in an effort to fill the power vacuum created by Eba's removal.

n

Eba, however, rejected his removal, describing it as unconstitutional, politically motivated, and "a joke taken too far," and insisted that due process had not been followed in the matter.

n

He accused some party leaders of plotting to force him out of office and approached the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, seeking protection against what he termed an unlawful attempt to remove him from office.

n

A Federal Capital Territory High Court subsequently granted an interim order restraining the APC, the Independent National Electoral Commission, and other parties from enforcing resolutions aimed at removing or sidelining Eba pending the hearing of the substantive suit.

n

Despite the court order, the APC later announced Eba's expulsion from the party over his decision to institute legal action against the party without exhausting internal dispute resolution mechanisms as stipulated in the APC constitution.

n

Eba was among the key political allies of former Governor Ben Ayade who defected from the PDP to the APC in 2021, before emerging as chairman of the ruling party in the state later that year, marking a significant turning point in his career.

n

Eba announced his defection in a statement on Thursday, citing alleged intimidation, political repression, and internal crises within the APC as reasons for his decision to leave the party.

n

The former APC chairman said he had endured "unprovoked ill treatment" and humiliation from a system he and other party leaders worked hard to build, and alleged that his suspension and eventual removal as APC chairman were carried out in defiance of a subsisting court order in his favour.

n

According to Eba, despite maintaining "a stoic and dignified silence" and withdrawing from party activities, forces within the party allegedly continued efforts to silence and sideline him politically, prompting him to take action.

n

Eba stated, "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."

n

He declared, "I decided to withdraw my membership of APC and requested the delisting of my name from its hard copy and digital register on May 7, 2026," marking the formal end of his association with the party.

n

The former APC chairman disclosed that he had received invitations from three opposition political parties to join efforts aimed at strengthening opposition politics in the state, but had chosen to return to the PDP instead.

n

Eba announced his decision to return to the PDP, describing the move as part of a broader mission to rebuild the party across the state, and declared, "From PDP I came, to PDP I have returned."

n

He noted that the leadership crisis rocking the PDP at the national level had been resolved by the Supreme Court, and that the task ahead was to rebuild the party structure across the 18 local government areas, 196 wards, and 3,281 polling units in Cross River State.

n

Eba stated, "I have humbly agreed to be one of the beasts of burden and prolocutors towards the effectuation of this noble task," indicating his commitment to the party's rebuilding efforts.

n

The former APC chairman also called on his supporters to align with what he described as a new political vision aimed at restoring democracy and good governance in the state, marking a new chapter in his political career.