PDP CRUMBLES IN CROSS RIVER AS IMOKE, BASSEY QUIT

 

PDP CRUMBLES IN CROSS RIVER AS IMOKE, BASSEY QUIT

Reports reaching Okene News Hub confirm a massive political earthquake in Cross River State as two "Iroko" trees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Governor Liyel Imoke and Senator Gershom Bassey, have officially dumped the party.

This major development, finalized on March 13, 2026, signals what many are calling the final "funeral" of the PDP in a state it once ruled with an iron grip for over two decades.

The two political titans submitted their resignation letters to their various wards, citing internal rot and a lack of direction within the party they helped build since 1998.

 The former Governor Liyel Imoke, told his ward chairman in Itigidi that after nearly 30 years, the constant infighting has made the PDP "unhabitable" for those seeking real progress.

While the heavyweight Senator from Cross River South echoed these sentiments, blaming "deep divisions" for his exit from his Calabar South ward.

"The party has lost its soul," a source close to the duo told Okene News Hub. "They can no longer stay in a house where the roof is falling in."

Political observers across Nigeria are watching closely as these exits aren't just random. Sources suggest Imoke and Bassey are moving toward the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

This is part of a massive "Third Force" movement being built to challenge both the APC and the struggling PDP in the 2027 General Elections. With Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe already gone to the APC, the PDP structure in Cross River has effectively been dismantled.

For years, the "Three Musketeers"—Donald Duke, Liyel Imoke, and Gershom Bassey—controlled the politics of the South-South state. Today, that alliance in the PDP is officially dead.

As we watch from Okene, this serves as a major lesson in political realignment. The PDP, which used to be a "fortress," is now a battleground. With the 2027 elections approaching, the rise of the ADC/Third Force coalition led by Imoke and Bassey could change the map entirely.