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| L-R : Ms Blessing Njong, Gov Ben Ayade (M) and Speaker John Lebo |
Efio-Ita Nyok|22 November 2017
A Facebook user, Ms Blessing Njong, has advised that the 25 members Cross River State House of Assembly (CRSHA) shouldn’t fall for the alleged hoodwinking antics of her Speaker, Rt. Hon. John Gaul Lebo NegroidHaven has learnt. This advice by Ms Njong is coming on the heels of the perceived fracas existing between Governor Ben Ayade and the hallowed legislative chamber in which the CRSHA is refusing to sit to listen to the 2018 budget proposal by the Governor for allegedly refusing to pay their statutory allowances.
Ms Njong who insinuated that Speaker Lebo is attempting to play fast on his colleagues alleged that the speaker is sourcing for a quorum of 9 legislators to overdo the resistant House members. According to her, Lebo just returned from Harvard University for a course as part of the largesse he enjoys from the governor as paddy paddy.
According to her, ‘The foolish Speaker of the Cross River State House Of Assembly, John Gaul Lebo has started his antics again against his house members position insisting that except Gov Ayade, who has remained very wicked to them by adamantly refusing to pay their statutory benefits, pays them, the house won’t sit to receive the 2018 budget estimate.
‘Has began holding sectional meetings with 6 members last night at Trancorp Hotel, Calabar, Recruiting them and wanting to make up the quorum which is, 9 members. Thereby dividing the house in order to frustrate members struggle to get the governor pay their entitlements. The speaker who has remained the only member whom Ayade has always sponsored to attend courses in America, just returned from attending another one in Harvard last week. Is wanting to use dividing the house antics as a show of gratitude to the governor.
‘The house of assembly members in Calabar remain the only house of Assembly with pick up trucks as their official cars, in the whole of Nigeria. My advise is that members should not be deceived OR listen to this rubber stamp speaker’.
Recall that, recently the internet went agog with insinuations that, the failure of the governor to present the 2018 budget proposal to the legislative arm of government in the state was a reaction of the disappointment of CRSHA against the Executive.
However, a source in the office of speaker who confided in our correspondent explained that the Executive Governor had to fix some features in the 2018 appropriation bill which evolved as a result of an oversight not because the CRSHA was refusing the governor. In fact, he said, the governor didn’t even reach anywhere close to the complex of the CRSHA.
Efio-Ita Nyok
Is a Blogger, the Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of NegroidHaven
