By Joseph ETTA in Calabar.
All Progressive Congress (APC) in Cross River State has described as ‘sign of idleness’ the return to school of Governor Ben Ayade who, two weeks ago, enrolled in the University of Calabar to pursue his Master’s Degree in Law.
The APC expressed worries that the Governor had always remained unserious despite multifaceted socioeconomic challenges in the state, and that he has been in office for almost five years without any tangible achievement.
Speaking in Calabar while interacting with Journalists, the state Chairman of APC, Mr. John Ochala, said any serious minded governor will not leave governance for school, and noted that no governor in the history of the state had ever contemplated doing so at such a critical time in the State, the Ayade-led government was dragging the state many years backward, adding “We are talking about dilapidated roads all over the state, look at our schools, our health infrastructure, our revenue generation capacity, and all other infrastructure. These are not enough to bother a governor. All that bothers him is to use public funds to go to school. Why didn’t he go to school when he was a Senator?”
“He is doing this to divert peoples’ attention from his failed administration. If I may ask; of what sociopolitical or economic value to Cross Riverians is his going to school? The schools he attended before now, how has he impacted the knowledge on Cross Riverians other than economic underdevelopment?
“Look at the various white elephant projects he said he was carrying out without any tangible impact on the state. Let the governor tell us how much he has generated so far from all his so-called projects. Because he is actually idle doing nothing, he wants to go to school so that he tell the students in that University that he is the governor of the state.
Ayade likes showmanship.
“You will notice that he travels outside the State too often. A man, who has challenges in the state, including communal clashes here and there, will not travel like that and that is to show you that he has been idle.
“Now he wants to be busy, not with governance, but driving siren to school to be cheered by students. The governor has refused to conduct elections into Local Government Councils thereby rendering governance at the local impotent.
“Governor Ayade was bold enough to lie to Mr. President about his so called super Highway project, from the day of the ground breaking ceremony till date nothing has been done concerning the roads, please help me advice him to get busy with the roads and other infrastructures begging for attention since it is very obvious that Mr. Governor is idle.”
Reading, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Christian Ita, described the vituperation as ‘sheer idiocy,’ and posited that the country has no law stopping anybody from going to school even when the person is occupying a public office.
“The criticism is sheer idiocy because there is no law stopping anybody from going to school, including those occupying public office. Mugabe had most of his degrees while in public office. And, the governor, not being a supperman, has put into place institutions that will drive development,” Ita said.
