Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade has reappointed Christian Ita as his Chief Press Secretary and Senior Special Assistant on Media.
A statement by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Aye Henshaw added that the governor approved the reappointment of Emmanuel E. Asikpo-Okon as the State Chief of Protocol.
The appointments take effect immediately.
Cross River State Governor, Prof Ben Ayade, has charged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members serving in the state who would participate in next year’s general elections as ad-hoc staff to discharge their duties with absolute neutrality and firmness.
The governor, who was addressing the corps members at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Batch B Stream One, orientation course at the permanent orientation camp in Obubra local government area lauded the NYSC for raising the credibility profile of the electoral process in the past.
This, he said, has culminated in public confidence in the NYSC and the electoral umpire.
The governor, who was represented by the Head of Local Government Administration in Obubra, Chief Bary Inyang, said over the years, successive governments had rendered adequate attention and huge investments into the programme and projects of the corps members, who are seen as partners in actualizing projects in the state.
He said despite the paucity of funds, the government remains sensitive to the plight of corps members especially on security and welfare.
Ayade said the aggressive industrialization of the state is not just to boost the economy, but also to justify the steps taken in furtherance of the commitment to ensure adequate opportunities are provided for capacity building of the youths through job creation and skill acquisition.
He told the corps members that the people of the state were peaceful and hospitable, assuring them of security and safety across the 18 local government areas of the state.
He charged the corps members to remain dedicated to the service of the nation in their various places of primary assignment.
According to him, corps members have a role to play both in the integration of culture and promotion of national unity and that this could be achieved through dedication to the course that has brought them from their various states to Cross River State.
He went further to advice them to avoid anything that could expose them to danger throughout their service year.
Cross River State governor, Prof Ben Ayade, has been commended for setting up a cocoa processing factory in Ikom local government area by foremost businessman from the state, Mr Chris Agara.
Agara, who is the chairman of A.A Universal Agro Industries Limited, told reporters in Calabar that the project which has reached an advanced stage would boost cocoa production in the state when completed.
According to him, the factory which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2018 would be processing over 30,000 metric tons of cocoa annually.
Agara, who said he has been supporting the growth of the project, added that the initiative was borne out his desire to promote cocoa production in the state.
“I am close to the Cross River government. I must not own the whole world before being part of the development of our people. I am impressed with the initiative of the governor and that is why I am supporting him in this project. The business of cocoa in Cross River has not been properly harnessed. Before now, our raw cocoa beans are usually transported to Ondo state where it is mixed with the Ondo cocoa and exported as a brand called `Ondo cocoa’.
“The governor made it clear during his campaign that he was going to set up a cocoa processing factory and we are happy that the project is going on and it has reached an advanced stage,” he said.
The feud between Cross River State governor, Ben Ayade and the state’s frontline female politician, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa is akin to the clash of two titans, one buoyed by the formidable might of state apparatus, the other riding on popular acclaim. Unfortunately, it has the potential of ending with one of the two parties badly bruised.
For quite some time, speculations have been rife that Governor Ayade is not quite comfortable with the seeming popularity of the woman popularly called Mama Bakassi among the people of Cross River State. But he was able to manage his apprehension until recent developments took both of them on a warpath. Her claim that relief materials meant for Bakassi refugees were diverted by an associate of the governor was said to have irked Ayade, who promptly took the matter up with her.
Apart from withdrawing the Land Cruiser Prado SUV allotted to her by the state government, Senator Florence became the subject of attacks and intimidation allegedly designed to cow her into submission and silence. Undeterred, the veteran of many previous battles continued her campaign for justice in respect of the refugees.
Her recent defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is said to have further compounded the face-off, as the governor now sees her as a clear threat to his seat in the next governorship election.
…Donates N20m to victims’ families, community
Cross River State governor, Prof Ben Ayade, has planned to take legal action against the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) over the tragedy that happened three weeks ago in Nyaghassang community in Calabar when a high tension cable fell on a viewing centre killing eight and injuring many more.
The governor who was out of the country when the unfortunate incident occurred visited the victims in the hospital as well as the community Thursday.
He promised to donate N10 million to the families of the victims and another N10 million to the community. He also promised to build a standard viewing centre for the community.
Addressing reporters after visiting the victims in the hospital, Ayade said, “Once there is a disconnect in the transmission line, the switchboard automatically cuts off power supply. Why that did not happen is totally unacceptable. The calibration with the switchboard must have been faulty and we suspect that may be tantamount to criminal negligence. And as a lawyer I am also looking at the details and working with a team to look at the way PHEDC would be made to be properly brought to book so that this would not happen again. Let this not happen again. We would be very aggressive. We are putting together a team of lawyers and consultants to actually look at the immediate and remote causes.
“I have authorized an open cheque for all the medical bills of those in the hospital. We would build a new viewing centre in the honour of those that died. We would look for an appropriate spot in the community distant from high tension cables. The plaques of the victims would be fully displayed in the viewing centre. I am donating 20 million naira. 10 million would go to the community while 10 million would go to the family of the victims.”
The governor also said one of those affected by the incident whose case was critical would be flown out of the country for treatment.
“For the young immigration officer whose situation is still critical to handle here in Calabar, I have ordered that they should urgently prepare his visas and I would liaise with the Commissioner of Health with the choice of which country to send him to for treatment. Unless we have information from Abuja that he can be treated here in the country, otherwise we have concluded arrangements to have him flown out of the country to save his life,” he said.
He expressed gratitude to Manchester United for their gesture in honouring those who died in the incident, by wearing the black armband during the last English Premier League match against Swansea, but said the state will still write the club officially to come in and do something for the victims and community.
When The Nation visited the scene of the incident, it was discovered that the cable that fell and killed eight people and injured many others was still on the ground.
The situation has left members of the community in apprehension. “I cannot understand why three weeks after that tragedy that cable is still on the ground. That is the problem with this country. Who knows when power would enter that thing again and somebody or people would go and touch it and there would be another tragedy. You know we have a lot of children playing around here. We beg them to come and repair the cable or remove it if they cannot fix it to avert further problems,” a member of the community who did not want to be named pleaded.
In a bid to check the incidence of kidnapping and armed robbery in the state, Cross River State governor, Prof Ben Ayade, Tuesday, at the Executive council Chambers, Calabar, announced the sum of N1million for anyone who can offer information leading to the arrest of kidnappers and armed robbers in the state.
The Executive Order, Christened “Hafiz law”, according to Governor Ayade, stipulates that “anybody who whistle blows on an armed robber or a kidnapper and by intelligence or investigation that armed robber or kidnapper is found to be true, that person is entitled to N1million.”
The governor who spoke during a courtesy call on him by the newly posted Commissioner of Police to the state, Hafiz Mohammed Inuwa, maintained that “from today, there is a whistleblowing law in Cross River that guarantees you N1million when you discover an armed robber, somebody who is in illegal possession of firearms, or somebody you know is a kidnapper or harbouring a kidnapped victim or offer any information leading to the arrest of an armed robber or kidnapper.”
Frowning on a situation where people arrested on issues relating to armed robbery or kidnapping find their way back into the street without prosecution, Ayade said: “We will give you the financial support to continue to feed them until the law takes its full course.”
Reasoning that the police has the capacity and intelligence to determine when one is falsely accused so that the innocent does not unnecessarily get trapped, the governor intimated that “anybody caught in the act or there is sufficient evidence that corroborates that action, that he is involved in any armed robbery and kidnapping, it is our responsibility as public servants who are in charge of the security of this state to ensure that such dangerous people do not get back to the society, unless the law finds them innocent.”
Ayade who hinted that “Cross Riverians are not known for trouble, but are leading light of civilization, a people who like enjoyment and class,” also averred that ninety-nine and a half percent of criminals arrested in the state are traceable to other states as Calabar is a metropolitan city and bedeviled with some challenges.”
He assured the new police commissioner of his administration’s readiness to offer any institutional support, as Cross River will not compromise the recommendation by the Canadian website where Calabar, because of its safe nature was selected among three safest cities for Canadians who wish to come to Nigeria.
Earlier, CP Inuwa disclosed that he was ready to work with anybody who is willing to assist the police in ensuring that the state remains peaceful.
“I have come to work and I am ready to work day and night. I don’t believe in sitting down in the office. I must achieve my mandate, I will not let the country, government and the Inspector General of Police down,” the police commissioner assured.
The Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade, has advocated the use of the National Youth Service Corps as a platform for the promotion of good ethics and sound moral values.
He was while receiving the Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Sulaiman Kazaure, at the Government House, Calabar.
A statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by the NYSC Headquarters quoted Professor Ayade Ayade as condemning the attitude and behaviours of people in contemporary Nigeria, especially the shift towards materialism, noting that such represented complete deviation from AfrIcan culture and traditions.
He called for efforts towards restoring the cherished values of the society.
The Governor was emphatic about the role the NYSC could play towards re-orientating the populace, noting that the Scheme had the responsibility to mould youths in preparation for leadership.
“Therefore, the cardinal theme that you must impart at the level of NYSC is the doctrine of discipline, ethics, morality, good conduct and good conscience,” he added.
He advocated the incorporation of the teaching of morals in the content of the Orientation course while also suggesting that participation in the Scheme should be mandatory for all Nigerian graduates irrespective of their age.
Ayade used the occasion to call on the NYSC to help current corps members to fulfil their dreams by posting them to serve in their areas of specialty.
The Governor said with delight that as a Corps member deployed to Imo State in 1988/89, he was posted to a brewery based on his discipline.
Reminiscing on his experience, he added that his desire to contribute towards finding solution to an environmental problem arising from the company’s operations spurred him to go for higher degrees and later establishing a laboratory that served as environmental consultant to oil companies among feats he has so far achieved.
“Without the NYSC in the right place, I would not have found direction and focus; NYSC made me,” he said.
He responding to the Director-General’s request to help address some challenges faced by the Scheme in the state, Governor Ayade said he takes those problems “very personal” and assured that they would be looked into.
Earlier, the Director-General had sought the state government’s intervention in areas of needs such as provision of utility vehicle for the NYSC State Secretariat, renovation of Orientation camp, payment of state subvention and outstanding allowances of Corps members.
Kazaure, who told the Governor that he was in the state for the 2016 Batch ‘B’ Pre-Orientation Workshop, thanked the state government for its support towards successful hosting of the programme.
The Cross River State governor, Prof Ben Ayade, has sent a Hawkers’ Right Bill to the State House of Assembly in a bid to legalize hawking in the state.
Ayade, in an interaction with reporters in his office in Calabar said it is insensitive for a government to ban hawking without any alternative.
According to him, such amounted to the infringement of the right of the hawker.
His words, “I have just sent the Hawkers’ Right Bill to the House of Assembly, to provide a right for hawking. You cannot tell a man not to sell his goods because he does not have money to rent a store. And you tell the man not to steal? Just provide a regulatory framework; there should be reflective outfits, there should be a minimum age of 18 to hawk, you will have a time frame when you come out so that you don’t constitute nuisance. But to prohibit hawking is to tell a man I don’t want to give you food, and I don’t want you to steal. It is unfair. They have right to seek and determine how they chose to live within the ambits of the law.
“Cross River would the first state that would officially recognize hawking. The core mandate of a leader should be the social security of his people. If a man choses to hawk, if you are government that is sensitive and understands the real principle and objective of the law, then you will know that the hawker has a right. Governance is about how you protect the weakest in the society and that is why even with the way things are, Cross River is still doing tax exemption for the poor.”
The governor also said the expansion of his new government by engaging about 800 appointees was deliberate to ensure many people were empowered financially.
He announced that he was going to announce 300 more appointees next week.
Ayade said he would rather spend four years paying salaries to reduce hunger and quit as governor than spend money on projects and politicians.
The governor also said the Presidential System adopted from America was not the best in running the country.
The Cross River state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade on Tuesday described calls by some developed countries for an end to fossil fuel extraction as a mitigative action against climate change as harmful to the Nigerian economy.
Ayade spoke at the sidelines of the ongoing 21st Conference of Parties to the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) holding in Paris France. The governor who is also the President of African Governors Forum on Climate Change said use of renewable energy must follow the pace of development by developing nations whose economy depends on oil.
Ayade’s position comes in great contrast to that of many developed countries that have canvassed for an end to fossil fuel extraction. Also, many civil society organizations have identified ‘big oil’ as a primary cause of climate change.
But Ayade, who is also a Professor of Environmental Science said without alternatives, Nigeria would continue to develop her fossil fuel economy but with controlled measure. This he said would ensure that those who depend on the oil would continue to be protected without the huge exposure of the atmosphere to hydro carbon.
“Renewable energy is not the way for Africans at this point in time, renewable energy means put an end to the sale of your hydro carbon, it means Nigeria should stop exporting crude oil, but they are busy doing research, inventing technology using solar energy and wind power. When all of that happens, when the oil price goes down, when you stop producing oil, what are you going to use as an alternative? The misbalancing of the livelihood, what is the alternative to that? Renewable energy must follow with development, it must follow with technology, Africa cannot be in a haste to adopt renewable technology,” Ayade said.
The governor decried the attitude by African countries where everything adopted in the West is copied without adequate reflection whether it works for the African environment. “We must go in pace with our own technology at our pace and that is the problem we have also taken into politics. We practice presidential system of government that is being practiced by advanced western world who have 200 years of democracy,” he said.
Explaining further, the governor explained that taking the hydro carbon out of the soil is necessary to avoid natural disasters. “When you talk about renewable energy, it is complaining against the economy of developing countries. Don’t forget, as we refuse to take off the hydro carbon, geothermal pressure occurs in the sub soil and in the span of years, volcanic eruptions will naturally occur. So you need to actually take them out
“You must have controlled utilization and the focus will be if you are taking off hydrocarbon can you plant more trees particularly carnivorous species like pines and oak trees that have the capacity to take off the carbon dioxide. I would rather have you use fossil fuel with mitigate measures than to cap it and focus on renewable energy. While that technology works for them, it is harmful for our economy,” he said.
The governor decried the beggarly attitude of African countries saying Africa has a key resource in her forests which must be developed to conserve carbon.
Ayade said: “As Africans, we must shut our doors and reinvent ourselves; adaptation is not the way to go because it is adjusting yourself to live with the situation, mitigation is the way to go and when you are dealing with mitigation, the focus would have been planting more trees, seeing how you can go for greener technology.
“But I ask you as we come here for COP21 what is Africa’s position, what have we brought to the negotiation table, we cannot continue to play the role of a victim, Africans own the largest tropical rainforest, and we stand at the middle between the West and the East. It is that place that sinks all the carbon dioxide that comes even from the US, Canada, Asia, they all come into Africa.
“So Africa is the sink, Africa must have a stronger say and have their own pre-COP conference before they come to COP. Africa’s negotiation must be single, firm, clear. Africa cannot come cap in hand always looking for alms. That is what I want to say that Africa must stop coming to the international community to seek funds, we must seek technology, seek equality and relevance, because indeed, it is one of the most blessed continent.”
Meanwhile, this year’s Calabar festival will have Climate Change as its theme. The governor explained that it is to call attention to the issue of a changing world. “We are using the carnival to create practical solution. I am looking at green police, a massive number of young men and women whose business is to grow new trees and safeguard existing ones,” Ayade said.