Ifere Paul|23 March 2016|8:45am
Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has been spotted in Abuja. The governor who has been running away from being served court papers was cornered around Maitama District were the Supreme Court papers were served on him personally.
Governor Ben Ayade who has been playing a “hanky-panky game of hide and seek” was shocked when court officials cornered him like a small school boy learning to escape his teachers.
According to information available to me, Paul Erokoro SAN had earlier written a petition to the Supreme Court stating reasons why the Supreme Court cannot here the case. The judge was said to have dismissed SAN Paul Erokoro's submission while ordering Joe Agi SAN to proceed to serve all relevant parties in the suit.
The serving on Governor Ben Ayade explains why he could not be seen in the public, and refused to attend the NEC Meetings with the President even though he was rumored to be in the country since Friday last week. It is surprising that Governor Ben Ayade who has always bragged about his relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari will suddenly refuse to attend a meeting in Aso Rock.
Insinuations from some quarters also pointed to the fact that the relationship has since been severed as a result of a leaked video where Governor Ben Ayade was seen raining unprintable abuses on President Buhari during a campaign in Ikom that brought both of them to power. Whether or not Governor Ayade is ashamed to face the president one on one is left to be seen.
However, crossriverians expected that their governor ought to have been part of the NEC Meeting to brainstorm his economic ideas for the way forward both in Cross River State and Nigeria as a whole. His eminent absence shows that the Governor has nothing to offer among his contemporaries.
This is not the first time that Governor Ayade will be excusing himself from meeting other governors without sending representatives.
With rising public disaffection to his governorship style of more talks and less works, disappearing acts, international travels for MoU's, inducting his brother into co-governorship, long convoys and sirens, and the lack of projects to talk nearly a year into government, one can conclude that crossriverians will be relieved if SAN Joe Agi kicks him out in the Supreme Court.
Ifere Paul
Is an Environmental Activist & Public Policy Analyst
