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You don’t deserve a second term, Christian leaders tell Ayade

By Tina Todo, Calabar
23 June 2018   |   4:23 am
A religious group called Christian Leaders Forum in Cross River State has said that the Governor, Senator Ben Ayade does not deserve a second term in office.

Cross River State governor, Senator Ben Ayade

A religious group called Christian Leaders Forum in Cross River State has said that the Governor, Senator Ben Ayade does not deserve a second term in office.

The General Overseer of God’s Heritage Centre, Bishop Josef Bassey made this statement yesterday in Calabar during a briefing with journalists.

Describing Ayade’s administration as a massive leadership failure, Bassey who is also the President of the Forum lamented that the leadership has taken the state 30 years backward

He said, “the two signature projects of the governor, the Bakassi Deep Sea Port and the 274 Kilometres Superhighway have not gained any speedy take-off, adding that the government now uses the superhighway tract as a route for logging of timber.

“The fear of intimidation and witch-hunting in the state had made stakeholders to be afraid of speaking their minds but the church cannot watch the state deteriorate to its worst level.

“The state civil service is completely bastardised, no impress for Commissioners, no vehicles for Permanent Secretaries and even the Assembly Members. The service has been destroyed before our very eyes.

“This administration came up with so many promises, but we are yet to see them coming to limelight. We have numerous communal and cult clashes on daily basis across the state; something must be done to safe Cross River from sinking.

“As we speak, Crossriverians are yet to feel the dividends of any project. Democratic dividends should be the basis for re-election. Ayade does not deserve a second term’’, he said.

The cleric, however, called on stakeholders in the state to rise above political party sentiments and safe Cross River from total collapse.

“Even the scholarship programme that was initiated by previous administrations has been abolished. Some students who were in their final year in school have dropped out.

“The government of Cross River now collects taxes from companies in upfront of about three years. The situation is very bad now because even the petty trader by the road is heavily taxed.

“Our rural roads are so bad that we can no longer access them. This government has failed in managing what the previous administration built.

However, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Christian Ita, countered the allegation saying that Bishop Bassey, “is suffering from optical illusion or alien to the truth. Let him go and run his church.

“Cross River receives the least allocation from the federal government and yet, we have meaningful projects on ground.

“President Muhammadu Buhari is coming to Calabar on June 26 to commission the largest rice city factory in Africa.

“The garment factory that was built by Ayade is functioning with over 3,000 workers, mainly widows.

“The power plant in Calabar is almost been completed and the toothpick factory in Yakurr local government is almost completed too.

“The East-West road in Boki local government has been completed among other numerous projects of the governor.’’ he noted.

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