The Story “Mob Attacks Ayade, Owan Enoh, Others In Ikom”, Refuted

In a media release this morning, the Chief Press Secretary to the Senate Leader, Chief Sam Arikpo has sent out explanations to the media, as to what actually transpired in Ikom, due to reports emanating from an online media that the convoy of PDP Governorship Candidate, Prof Ben Ayade on a reconciliation mission on the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma Egba was attacked by a crowd in Ikom last night.

The explanations were as follows;

At 9pm yesterday Chris Agiba, former S.A to the Governor, now one of the candidates for into the House of Representatives, a former loyalist to the Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba and Fred Osim, former organizing secretary for PDP in the South - South came unannounced into the Senator's compound, and as former known loyalists of the Senator were allowed entrance. Alighting from their car, other party stalwarts and faithfuls of the Senator on recognizing them tried to prevent the visitors from entering until the Senator was informed of the happenings and ordered them to be allowed to come in to see him.

The boys in the compound were unhappy with that act of the Senator prevailing over his perceived betrayer. The Senator has continued to prevail over his loyalists to abstain any act of violence. As a matter of fact, this was one of his missions for coming home, to continue telling them to forget the past and forgive, since they are all from the same people in one party, the PDP; and his readiness to help the President get reelected.

Prior to the time, there was an information that Professor Ben Ayade, the PDP Cross River State Governorship candidate will be visiting, hence the Senator was expecting him for a couple of hours when he didn't turn up. So at about 10pm, some cars arrived with a gang of strangers banging at the gate of the Senate Leader and ordering that the gate be opened. When his loyalists, who apparently alerted trooped out to see who the intruders were, peeped into the cars and sited the Professor and then saw Hon Owan Enoh and another fellow who was perceived as a betrayer, so the boys said that the Professor is welcome, but could not come in with his company.

Some of them who briefed our correspondent in anonymity confessed that they are aggrieved with Hon Enoh after his battle for the ticket of the Senate Leader, not to inform him that he was coming to visit before staging a show up at his compound. They further said that they felt he was slighting the Senator Leader for not informing him of decided to restrain the Hon Owan. And because of that the Professor could not proceed with his visit. The reports making the rounds, according to the Chief Press Secretary to the Senate Leader, Chief Sam Arikpo, that the visiting convoy was mobbed by the Senate Leader's loyalists were incorrect and warns journalists to always to always avoid sensationalism which is capable of inflaming the already tensed political atmosphere.