24 October 2018
The Eyo Ekpo Campaign Organisation receives with dismay, news of the appointments of new special assistants by Ben Ayade. These appointments highlight once more the wastefulness of the Ayade administration. It is now not surprise that Cross River ranks last among all the states of the federation in terms of meeting its monthly financial commitments.
At the last known count, Ben Ayade, since 2015, has brought on a staggering 5000 plus political aides on the CRSG payroll, including 1100 appointed in one day without any allocation to cater to them, in a state struggling to pay and elevate civil servants. This waste deprives the State of investments in the desperately needed enablers of growth that we lack such as water, good waste management, roads and viable healthcare and education sectors.
Consequently, public services are lacking in many parts of the state; potable water has stopped flowing from the state water board, waste management has ground to a halt, and poor roads are the order of the day.
These new appointments will do nothing to solve these challenges, but will only further increase the cost of our constant resort to debt to fund salaries to the detriment of Cross Riverians.
Political appointments must first and foremost deliver value to citizens, rather than be used as a cynical patronage system for buying support for a government that has failed in practically every factor of development in the state.
As elections approach, we are confident that the people of Cross River will come together to reject this administration at the polls, and put behind them the last four years of wasteful spending.
It is time to recover and restore Cross River State.
Signed
Ambo Ekpenyong
DG, Eyo Ekpo Campaign Organisation
Tuesday October 23, 2018
Calabar
