14 September 2019
A press statement signed by Governor Ben Ayade's Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Christian Ita, earlier, indicated that "Moses Onoh's suspension came as a direct consequences of his mishandling of privileged official communication," also issuing a stern warning that the Governor "will not condone any abuse of office of any kind including leaking of privileged official communication."
Sources have revealed that the suspension bordered on lack of confidentiality on the part of Hon. Onoh on the Governor's proposed creation of new Ministries and Agencies in his second dispensation.
The idea of creating new Ministries and Agencies is not new as this idea must have been shared in recent times especially between the Governor and his allies in various fora before the eventual decision was taken. Governor Ayade could not have taken such an important decision without the knowledge and contributions of his trusted stewards.
The alleged leaked document must have passed through a few hands, notably, the processors of such document, before it got to the Budget office.
How did the 'powers that be' come to the conclusion that it was leaked through the Budget Office, leading to the suspension of Hon. Moses Onoh? Did Ifere Paul, the progenitor of the ill-fated news, confess to have gotten the information from the Budget Office? Is he trying to score a cheap political point or playing discordant tunes to make someone a scapegoat? All these, I have wondered with utter consternation.
One would have expected the Chief Press Secretary to issue a disclaimer instead of resorting to such a harsh decision. By this, it lends credence to the fact that truly there were plans to create such Ministries and Agencies; a development that has met wide criticism from the public.
The embattled SA Budget must be so disgruntled by such an ugly development. But before we crack a bit with the sledge hammer, we must not forget that Hon. Moses Onoh had worked diligently for the People's Democratic Party and the overall cause of Cross River State to earn a reappointment in the Ayade-led administration.
