A coalition of six civil society organisations (CSO) has staged a protest in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, against Governor Ben Ayade over communal clashes in the state and his failure to conduct local council elections in Cross River. The protest was also against the loan being sought by Ayade as well as “the lack of transparency surrounding series of funds allocated by your administration”.
The coalition comprising: Grass-root Advocacy for Good Governance and Accountability, Citizens Solution Network, Say Something Action Group, Justice Ambassadors Initiatives, Nigeria’s Future Leaders Movement and Save Cross River State Movement, staged the protest on Thursday, moving around Calabar metropolis before berthing at the State House of Assembly.
The protesters, in a letter addressed to the governor and delivered to the Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, said, “We, the undersigned Civil Societies of Nigeria under the civic alliance of Coalition of Cross River write to you in your capacities as the Governor of Cross River State. First and foremost, we wish to state that we acknowledge the fact that there are areas your administration has got its policies right and we wish to commend your overall efforts.
“That said, as we commend you, we also wish to draw your attention to the worrying developments concerning the current state of affairs within Cross River State lingering for some time now.
“We have observed with grave displeasure and concern four major developments within the state over the last four years that have raised pressing questions about your administration which require urgent clarification.”
The group further stated, “We the signatory organizations are protesting against the widespread insecurity challenges within the state in form of communal clashes that are in public domain. We are of the position that the absence of elected Local Government Chairmen and Counsellors across the state have made it impossible to tackle these insecurity challenges effectively due to the collapse of our once efficient and sound Local Government Administrative System.
“We are calling on you, to conduct free and fair LGA elections within 60days so as to get duly elected officials with the constitutional mandate needed to address the insecurity in their respective LGAs. The group said that they though, the State Governor, Prof Ben Ayade has the executive power to borrow loan on behalf of the state, they demand that the entire loan approval process be reviewed and re-deliberated again by the State House of Assembly so as to bring transparency, clarification and legitimacy to the exercise as regard the worrying and ambiguous phrase of unforeseen obligations which the good people of Cross River State need clarification on.
“In furtherance to our demand for answers in respect to the ambiguity of the loan being requested for and the lack of transparency surrounding series of funds allocated by your administration for state projects and your list of signature projects that are yet to be materialised; we therefore call for the probing of all the activities of the Office of Due Process of the State by ICPC and EFCC so as to establish the extent our commonwealth is being accounted for, since virtually every transaction your administration authorises passes through the Office of Due Process
“Also we are seizing this historical moment to let you know that questions regarding all the economic trees fell by your administration in the name of the Super Highway Project across the length and breadth of the State have re-emerged. We wish to know the state of those fallen economic trees, where they are, and if they have been sold, we wish to know the dealers involve and the amount of money raised and where such fund is currently.”
The civil societies condemned “the lack of transparency surrounding these economic trees that have great bio diverse significance and economic importance. All Cross Riverians wants to know. We condemn the lack of transparency surrounding these economic trees that have great biodiverse significance and economic importance. At this juncture, we wish to state categorically that we deeply condemn in the strongest terms the coldblooded murder of Mr. Michael Essien by the operatives of Department of Public Transportation (DOPT) that took place opposite Nigerian Post Office by Calabar Road on the 20th of June, 2019. That murder case should not be swept under the rug.
“We call on the Commissioner of Police; Cross River State to prosecute this murder case to the fullest extent of the law within the next 48hours, for Mr. Michael Essien could have been the relative of any one of us. The perpetrators of this heinous crime must be arrested, prosecuted and tried in Court.
“We call on the State Governor to compensate the widow and the children left behind by the deceased who was murdered by State transport operatives” the group stated and bemoaned the neglect of supposed elites of the state and informed that the youths are increasingly motivated to rescue the state from the jackal that has brought Cross River to its knees in/within a period of just four years.”
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