Tony Odey: Ayade’s Missed Opportunity?

Barr. Tony Odey and CRS Governor Sir Ben Ayade

By Odey Joseph

Cross Riverians unanimously believe that we are at a period in our state’s long history when it is most important to have very capable hands at the helm of affairs at Government House, Calabar. Thus, in the months before the State Governor, Professor Benedict Ayade formed a cabinet, it was fervently hoped that it would be a crack team of capable, specially picked professionals.

On that note, one eminently qualified person widely thought to be a perfect fit for such cabinet is Barrister Tony O. Odey, a leading light of Cross River State and a pillar of the Peoples Democratic Party in Northern Cross River. It therefore came as a surprise to see the long list of Commissioners without him in it, despite his rich resume and wealth of experience both in politics and the corporate world.

With a career spanning the years since 1999, he has been a constant figure in the opposition political space of Cross River State until he went mainstream by aligning with the Peoples Democratic Party. As a leader of the All Nigerian Peoples Party which later became the All Progressives Congress, Barr. Odey was instrumental to the party’s prime position in the state. In Northern Cross River, his sagacity and deft political moves was the glue that held ANPP together until APC happened.

It is a fact that Yala is one of the prime political focus points in Cross River State. Barr. Odey was the only reason why Yala never totally became the stronghold of any single political Party and since he aligned with the People’s Democratic Party, Barr. Odey has been a stabilizing influence in Yala, Cross River North Senatorial Zone and the State entirely.

Despite the counter force of many key PDP members in Yala who decamped to APC just before the 2019 elections, Tony Odey proved his worth in the Local Government by galvanizing massive support for Governor Benedict Ayade and his mobilization effort showed in the way Ayade swept Yala votes, the best effort of APC forces notwithstanding.

In reckoning with Governor Ayade’s avowed commitment to constituting a master cabinet after his 2019 victory, political watchers in the State took it for granted that Mr. Odey would be one of the strategic assets in it. Unexpectedly, when the much awaited cabinet list became public, Barr. Tony Odey was not there.

It was even more surprising because the Governor had shown a deep desire to build politico-economic bridges across Nigeria and internationally which is evident in his creation of a Foreign Affairs Ministry as well as an International Development Ministry. Barr. Odey would have been a key fit in the cabinet as he has over the years built a vast network of political bridges across Nigeria. His expansive network is not just in politics or the Peoples Democratic Party, it extends across corporate Nigeria, making him the perfect fit to drive the Governor’s bridge building efforts.

Fortunately, it is not too late for Governor Ayade to exploit Barr. Odey’s rich bank of experience and utilize his boundless energy to help actualize the administration’s plans for the State in the remaining years before 2023. As it stands, assigning the Barrister a strategic position in Government would be one of Governor Ayade’s best tactical moves and I do believe that His Excellency will not fail to seize the opportunity.

Odey Joseph, a Cross Riverian, is reachable via,
Twitter @JoeOdey.