A former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, on Tuesday declared his intention to run for the presidency in 2019.

Duke has, however, dumped the People’s Democratic Party and will run under the Social Democratic Party.

The ex-governor, who was a staunch member of the PDP, said he decided to quit the PDP  after 20 years because it had lost its values and was not the same party he joined back then.

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Duke announced his decision at the national secretariat of the SDP on Tuesday afternoon where he was received by the national secretary, Shehu Gabam, and other party leaders.

He said,

“I was a member of the PDP but over the years we saw the fortunes and the values of the party dwindle. When a former President walks out of his party, you know there is something. Over the years, you will see that it lost its values and became a shadow of itself.

“That the PDP is zoning today is actually a betrayal of those ideals it started off with because it was a national organisation. Today, in some parts of the country, it is hardly in existence.”

The former governor lamented the high rate of poverty and unemployment.

Duke said the rising population also posed a security threat if not probably checked.

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