Two political parties in Cross River State have withdrawn their membership of the Inter- Party Advisory Council (IPAC) with immediate effect.
The parties are the Young Progressives Party (YPP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
This was contained in a joint statement issued in Calabar by the state Chairman of the YPP, Comrade Anthony Attah, and the state Chairman of the SDP, Ambo Ekpenyong.
Advancing their reasons for pulling out, the two parties said that IPAC is not an appendage of the ruling party in the state, which is the All Progressives Congress (APC) and that the leadership is taking undemocratic decisions on behalf of political parties without due consultations.
The two leading opposition political parties in the state added that they resolved not to work with the embattled state IPAC chairman because of his inability to lead according to the code of conduct guiding the council.
The YPP and SDP stated further that the state leadership of IPAC as currently constituted, falls short of the ideals of the founding fathers of the council.
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“It is our belief that the council, made up of largely opposition political parties, must always draw a clear line between maintaining a cordial relationship with the government in power as well as standing up for good governance and accountability.
“At a time when there is a national outcry against turning the country into a one-party state, we cannot afford the luxury of joining the praise-singing train, without mustering the courage to draw the attention of the government to areas where they are failing.
“It is against this background that we have resolved to withdraw from blind partisanship in order to offer our patriotic advice to the government,” the two parties said.
However, they pledged to put the interest of the state first by always standing on the part of truth, transparency, accountability, and good governance.
