Former lawmaker, Florence Ita-Giwa, has accused the Cross
River State governor, Ben Ayade of hunting for her life.
She said her life was in danger for exposing the diversion
of relief materials meant for Internally Displaced Persons in Dayspring Island,
Bakassi.
The senator made the claim while addressing newsmen in Lagos
yesterday.
Ita-Giwa alleged that a certain Effiong Udeme, in collusion
with some Cross River State officials shared the relief materials among
themselves and sold some.
She said the relief materials included bags of cement, wood,
and packs of zinc.
Ita-Giwa insisted that she was a victim of a personal
vendetta being waged by political enemies spearheaded by Governor of Cross
River State, Ben Ayade.
She also alleged that the latter wants her dead.
She said, “If anything happens to me, Governor Ayade should
be held responsible for the text he sent to me.
“I would like the public to know that Governor Ben Ayade, a
man whose election I supported, has been sending menacing text messages to me,
warning me of the consequences of involving the Nigerian Media and
Nigeria
Police in the uncovering of the diversion of the relief materials by his
government officials.
“As we speak, Cross River State is very unsafe, with
assassinations and kidnapping becoming the order of the day.
“Under this cloud of general insecurity nothing must happen
to me.
“Governor Ayade and his gang of merry men should be told
that they will be held responsible should I come to any misfortune.
“This self-serving campaign of calumny against me instigated
by the state government is capable inciting ethnic tensions which may in turn
lead to the shedding of blood, a prospect I dread greatly.
“From my observations, it appears to me that Governor Ayade
feels threatened by my joining the APC for whatever reason.
“I don’t recall any other former PDP stalwart in the state
who decamped to the APC being as persecuted as I am.
“Could it be that Governor Ayade is picking on me because of
my gender or my enormous electoral appeal?
“I choose to believe the latter as I would like to believe
that Ayade is not a misogynist, and he ought to know that I have never played
gender politics.
“They turned the table around and accused me of diverting
the relief materials.”
By John Owen Nwachukwu
