In Etung politics, six days proved long enough to enter the opposition and short enough to reconsider the journey.
Comrade David Asim Agbor, former Chairman of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Etung Chapter, has returned to the All Progressives Congress (APC), barely six days after defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in a political reversal brokered by Barr. Gilbert Agbor, Special Adviser to the Governor of Cross River State on Asset Management and Recovery.
The former youth leader’s return was announced during a strategic meeting of APC stakeholders at the Special Adviser’s residence in Calabar. The meeting coincided with a visit by Dr. (Mrs.) Blessing Egbara, the APC candidate for Obubra/Etung Federal Constituency in the 2027 general elections.
Apparently dissatisfied with the promises that accompanied his brief move to the PDP in Etomi Ward, Etung Local Government Area, David Agbor retraced his steps following interventions by the Special Adviser and Dr. Cyril Abang Agbor, Head of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Calabar.
Explaining his return, the former youth leader described his defection as “a case of falling to the devil’s temptation to embark on a six-day protest against his family (APC).” He expressed gratitude to the Special Adviser and Dr. Cyril Abang Agbor for their intervention, which he said helped him reconsider his political direction and reaffirm his commitment to the APC.
Welcoming him back to the APC, the Special Adviser likened the short-lived defection to escaping a potentially disastrous journey.
“You just escaped a fatal crash, because you were going to board an airplane whose pilot just jumped out; a total crash was inevitable for you,” he quipped.
The episode presented an awkward moment for the PDP, which had barely welcomed a new entrant before watching him return to his former political home. In the comedy of political crossovers, six days proved a remarkably short honeymoon, raising questions about the appeal of the promises that initially attracted David Agbor to the opposition.
For the PDP, the episode offers a pointed political lesson: attracting a recruit is one thing; giving that recruit compelling reasons to stay is quite another.
Beyond the homecoming, Barr. Agbor used the strategic meeting to canvass support for Governor Bassey Edet Otu’s second-term ambition as well as victory for other APC candidates, declaring that the governor had performed creditably well to deserve another term in office.
The Special Adviser urged Cross Riverians to resist distractions from what he described as narrow-minded opposition elements and instead join forces to actualise Governor Otu’s re-election bid in 2027.
He maintained that the governor’s performance and commitment to the welfare of Cross Riverians provided sufficient grounds for stakeholders to sustain their support for his administration.
He further charged APC faithful, stakeholders and residents of Cross River State to close ranks, remain focused on the collective interest of the state and work towards securing another term for the incumbent governor, rather than allow political detractors to derail the state’s development aspirations.
The strategic meeting attracted prominent APC stakeholders, including Dr. Egbara, State Party Secretary Isek James, former Obubra APC Chapter Chairman Denis Egor, university don Dr. Emmanuel Awubi, Nsiyan Ogar Okey, popularly known as Dubest, and George Sunday, among others.
By Kingsley Agim
