Governor Ayade loses Senate primary after sex video scandal
Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River has lost his bid to proceed to the Senate when he concludes his two-term next year.
The governor joined the ruling All Progressives Congress in 2021 and took part in the ruling party’s Senate primary in Calabar.
Results of the primary show Mr Ayade polled 52 votes to crash out against Adams Cecelia, who scored 140. Another aspirant Martin Orim scored 61 votes.
The development comes barely a few days after videos of Mr Ayade in a room with a person reported to be his mistress. He did not comment on the scandal, and it was not immediately clear whether it affected his chances with delegates.
Mr Ayade, an academic, was elected twice as governor while a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, which he abandoned in May last year.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
States
Independence: NBA urges Nigerians to expect better future
The NBA said that ordinary Nigerians should be deriving benefit from the subsidy removal rather than hardship.
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
Rights
Over one million complaints received, 716,000 petitions resolved, says PCC
The Public Complaints Commission says it received 1,281,984 complaints in the last two years and resolved 716,688 of them.
Economy
UNDP warns 800 million youths in Nigeria, other nations facing future without jobs
The United Nations Development Programme has warned that 800 million youths in Nigeria and other developing nations face a future without jobs.
World
Number of West Africans rushing to Europe drops 59% as routes get deadlier: IOM
According to IOM, 4,566 migrants from Mali, Senegal, Guinea and The Gambia were registered arriving in Europe by sea between January and June 2026.
Economy
REA, NCC to expand rural connectivity, cut telecom costs
REA and NCC are planning joint pilot projects to integrate rural electricity infrastructure with telecommunications networks.
States
Asagba urges Delta CP to revive committee on community policing
Mr Azinge made the call when police commissioner Samuel Erale paid him a courtesy visit on Tuesday in Asaba.
Economy
Geological agency urges miners to disclose discoveries to attract investment
Olusegun Ige, the director-general of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, has urged mining companies to disclose mineral discoveries to attract investment.
