Venatius Ikem, Cross River State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Martin Orim, former Chief of Staff immediate past governor of CRS, Ben Ayade, are enmeshed in a war of bitter words, in what one political watcher has referred to as “the first shots for the political soul of 2027.”
Ikem, in a short article, “Of Comedians and Politics”, published on his Facebook page, wrote about “… a certain former Chief of Staff to a certain former Governor visited my community on the sidelines of a burial over the weekend and on a certain “official” assignment promised to use his “influence” to bring “development” to my people that they have not been privileged to have because they were not on the “mainstream” of politics! Meanwhile, his village does not boast of the development we have in my community!”
Aiming another dig, he refers to the former Chief of Staff as “…even an impostor with an attachment of “Dr” to his name lately!”
With fisticuffs of political fury raised, Ikem makes direct reference to his very tumultuous political fights with Ben Ayade. “We saw Gov. Ayade. We no shake. When you were in office as Chief of Staff with Governor, Co-Governor, over 1,000 appointees, we no shake and We defeated you people when it mattered most and We are still standing.”
With, “please someone should advise this timid village boy that we brought out of obscurity to stop pretending to be what he is not”, Ikem is thought to have hit below the belt.
An obviously angry Orim, immediately took to his Facebook page, acting maturely with this post, “I can’t join issues with a frustrated and envious pendulum like Vena Ikem.”
Three hours after later, he violates what he wrote in his initial response post and returns with a post in the following terse words. “Vena is nothing but a drug addict and an alcoholic, an acclaimed lawyer who has not even as much as attended even one bar conference talk less of appearing in court. He can’t even do charge and bail.”
“Politics is at the centre of all this banter. I think the right thing is just to let them exhaust themselves; describe each other in obscene sentences and maim each other character. Along the line, when their personal political ambitions align, you will see them together, walking in the same direction. I thank them for jostling us all awake”, a prominent Obudu politician, who doesn’t want his name in print, told us.
