Judex Okoro, Calabar
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River State and Elders Forum have kicked against Governor Ben Ayade’s return to school.
Ayade had penultimate week enrolled as a postgraduate student in the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar (UNICAL). Sources at the department said the governor attended first lectures on Thursday, last week.
In a separate interviews, the stakeholders described Ayade’s return-to-school as a sign of idleness and an indication that the PDP-led leadership lacked direction and vision.
State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. John Ochala, said any serious-minded governor would not leave governance for school, recalling that no governor in the history of the country has ever done that.
Ochala regretted that the state had been handed over to an unserious leadership that has continued to drag it backward, saying the governor has remained in office without any tangible achievement.
“APC had always known that the present administration of PDP in the state was never serious in the first place.
“We have dilapidated roads all over the state; look at our schools, health infrastructure, revenue generation capacity and all other infrastructures, 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. Besides, what are the socio-political or economic values of going to school to Cross Riverians? From his performance, one can say all the schools he attended before now have in no way impacted positively on Cross Riverians other than economic underdevelopment.”
He said in spite of numerous challenges including communal clashes, the governor still travels outside the state too often, wondering what would become of governance now that he has become a student.
Reacting on behalf of Cross River Elders Gorum, Chief Martins Agbor, said Governor Ayade has betrayed the electorate by abandoning governance.
“Five months into his second term, he is yet to appoint commissioners neither has he inaugurated any project as other governors did in their 100 days in office. It is very sad.”
But Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Christian Ita, said there was no law stopping anybody from going to school even when the person is occupying a public office.