Ayade dancing 'Shoki' at last week grand reception by Cross Riverians
Joseph Odok|13 October 2016
On Sunday the 9th of October 2016 political appointees and supporters of Ayade were called to Chief Eugene Ake's Calabar residence to shore up the dwindling support for Ayade in Cross River State and his Obudu home town.
In the said meeting the political appointees and supporters of Ayade dwelt on the failures of the governor and called for a withdrawal of support for Ayade unless the governor retraces his steps and takes actions to improve their welfare. Instead of building support for the governor, a delegation was sent to the governor to raise some issues as a condition for their continued support for the governor. The issues raised include: payments of outstanding debt for past and present political appointees, poor governance, absence of governance in the state. Cessation of wastage occasioned by the governor's frequent travels and signing of MoUs targeted at buying time and hypnotising people with unrealistic promises, non interference in the functions of appointees by co-govenor Frank Ayade and other relatives and in-laws of the governor, provision of impress, ensuring financial votes for subheads, provision of equipment for the appointees to do their job, revitalization of local government and payments of debt owed council chairmen and councillors. The appointees warned that the governor must change or they will join those attacking him to bring down the obviously insensitive government of Mr. Ben Ayade.
There is an adage that once a ship wants to sink, even the rat jumps out. Now that the governor is sinking, the appointees ought to be all out defending the governor if all was well with them or if they are fully in support of the governor. Recently there seems to be a silence of appointees and less defence of the governor even in social media. Rather than increase support for the governor, the appointees have rather taken to being informants for Ayade's critics. It is confirmatory of the dying support for the governor. In fact ,two of the governor's appointees called me out yesterday to give me a drink and supply me with facts to publish in public.
Regrettably, Cross River is losing all it's tourism potentials under the watch of Mr Ben Ayade. The Obudu mountain race is a dead dream, Tinapa is moribund, Obudu cattle ranch is growing weeds with cable cars are no longer functioning. Our educational system is comatose with the governor owing WAEC large sums of money. The international conference centre is at the stage it was after commissioning. The Shanghai Farms is folding, the Ugep Institute of Management Technology can no longer pay its staff with lectures resigning their jobs. The Garment Factory is yet to be commissioned, after much talk about employment and the lifting of more than 20 years ban on employment, those recruited in garment factory and green police have been deceived with their employment revoked. The much hyped monorail is yet to kick start. Recently the national sport festival that was zoned for hosting in Cross River State has been withdrawn to Abuja by the minister of sports.
Amidst all these, more monies are diverted for the building of a 100 unit housing scheme in the governor's Obudu home town. Mobile courts are in the increase to extort monies from poor citizenry to feed the governor's greed and primitive spirit of wealth acquisition.
Enough is enough! We must all rise to condemn the open robbery of the state by Ayade's administration.
Joseph Odok
Social Change Agent
