A former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Barrister Marc Enamhe has decried the poor performance of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Cross River State and called Governor Ben Ayade to order, saying the people in the Northern senatorial district of the state where he is from were not impressed by his style of governance.
“Quote me, this is not what the North bargained for, so if surprises spring up in 2019, if anything happens to the North regarding the second term, I won’t be surprised, this is not what the North bargained for, the dividends of democracy have not been felt in the North where our son, Governor Ayade hails from.
“We don’t know for now, if our son is the governor of Cross River state. The Ogoja-Obudu road is still what it was several years ago, even worse than he met it, we leave Calabar for Ogoja, we can’t get back that same day, it’s as bad as that.
Speaking with DAILY POST in Calabar, Barr Enamhe lamented “Ogoja General Hospital has only Medical Doctor, since other Doctors left for residency, as I speak to you, civil servants have not been employed, we don’t have new crop of civil servants in the state to take over from the retired ones that is not the problem of this administration,” he told DAILY POST.
“Since 1999, they had been no open recruitment of civil servants on the basis of merit, it is either recommendation is from the speaker, the chief judge, the commissioner and others. Even the ones recruited into the ministry of Justice, are all from people.
“Former Governor Liyel Imoke and Donald Duke did not employ and what the people of the state need now is employment of her teaming youths, the people who graduated in 2001 to date are still walking round without job, some died without being employed, it is as bad as that, we can’t continue like this.
For political appointees, he said putting food on the table of few people, is not permanent employment, the incoming government may not retain them, “Our people prefer permanent employment. Political appointment is just for a while, it phases out with the administration.
“If the political appointees were appointed on permanent basis, at the end of their service year of 35 years or thereabout, they will be given gratuity and pension and the workers will be happy. Our people will appreciate it more than working for a while and leave without anything to back up,” he stated.
On restructuring, he said “What is restructuring, if we follow the constitution, Nigeria as a federating state, we don’t need restructuring, the same people who are asking for restructuring are the same people who will not give autonomy to local government, the same people who would tell you they are not marginalizing but are the same people who are marginalizing the minority.
“The issue of restructuring for me is a non issue, if we follow the letters of the constitution, we don’t need restructuring, the constitution has taken care of that, here in Nigeria, we are all struggling to run University, federal government runs University, states run University but in United States, federal government has no business with University.
“When we were growing up, there was no strike, today, the university teachers are on strike, tomorrow it is Doctors, next tomorrow, it is nurses, if that is what we call restructuring, when you are frustrating the wellbeing of the country, when the masses are dying because you are going on strike, to me the constitution has taken care of that, we don’t need any restructuring,” he stressed.
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