Joseph Odok|21 February 2016|3:13pm
It is unfortunate that the APC leadership is still sleeping despite obvious challenges. With the timeline for council polls getting near, no statement has been made to compel the governor to timely conduct the local government council pools.
Ayade is surely afraid to conduct council pools. This is evident in the fact that funds for the conduct of local government council polls is conspicuously not captured in the recently passed Cross River State budget. In the words of Dr Alex Egbona (the immediate past Chief of staff to Liyel Imoke) "cross river state will need about 500 million as funds to successfully conduct the local government polls. The absence of any budgetary provision for the conduct of council pools tells that the Cross River State governor has no plan to conduct council pools". More so, nothing has been done to form the screening committee to kick start preliminaries to the council polls.
In the burial of Dr. Walter Eneji, Ayade was quoted to have prayed that the dead should die, that if dead does not die, Ayade will not be the governor of Cross River State. Obviously the sole interest of Ayade is to be the governor of Cross River State. Ayade is ready to sacrifice Cross River State to his clandestinely primitive arrogance and power hungry spirit to perpetrate self as governor despite obvious ineptitude.
Ayade's primitive spirit of wealth acquisition has been clearly shown in all his activities especially in the handling of Local Government funds. The local government funds therefore will be made a property of Ayade if he is eventually allowed to inaugurate a caretaker committee instead of conducting elections.
Information reaching my desk reveals that Ayade has began consultation with the Cross River State legislators to facilitate his desire to frustrate the conduct of council pools; rather than conduct local government polls. One member of the present day Cross River State House of Assembly who spoke to me in confidence affirmed Ayade's unwillingness to conduct council polls. The strategy as revealed by the said legislators to me is that Ayade is ready to bribe the legislators with a promise of 1 million naira monthly to be paid them by the various council caretakers chairmen. This is to serve as a bet to facilitate the passage of a bill for the formation caretakers chairman across the various local government areas in the state. In a poor state like Cross River State, such a deal looks great to the self imposed hungry legislators often satisfied with eating crumbs from the governor's table.
The fears of the governor is aggravated by the recent gale of defection from PDP and LP to APC . Ayade obviously afraid of loosing out, sees the conduct of council pools as a threat to his political ambition. Ayade in keeping with his body language that reveals a readiness to trade Cross River State for his political ambition has over bloated his exco. The policy of enlarged exco still portrays more trouble to the governor; because the governor is yet to payroll his aides or give them employment letters. Chief-Spokesman Agogo for example could not hide his frustration of working as a political appointee without pay when he exclaimed in his Facebook page that he is tired with politics.
The political calculations seems adversely against Ayade. The only option left for Ayade is the formation of caretakers committee to avert elections. I therefore call the APC leadership in Cross River State to show working by compelling the governor to conduct local government pools
RECOMMENDATIONS
APC Cross River State must begin consultation with all stakeholders especially it's national leadership to brainstorm on ways of compelling the governor to conduct council pools in the nearest available time.
APC Cross River State must institute an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to compel the governor to inaugurate CRSIEC for the conduct of election.
APC leadership should as a matter of importance join in the campaign against the maladministration of Ayade's government especially his unwillingness to conduct council polls.
A stitch in time saves nine
Joseph Odok
Is a Change Agent, Social Critic & Friend of Democracy
