Ayade In Hot Soup After PDP Chairman, Ikem Questions What He Did With The ₦18billion FG Refund
The challenge of Leadership isolation.
In 2019, not too long after his inauguration for his second term, I visited Gov. Ayade in his office and advised him against starting a major capital Project like an airport as was still being rumoured at the time. I told him that he should rather focus his energy on completing the major projects he started like the Superhighway, even as I didn’t believe in it.
He educated me saying he didn’t know why we are overrating the construction of an airport! Said it is a mere 5kms of asphalt Road!
Needless to say that was my last visit to the office.
Almost 3 years later, 2022 is fast running out, along with his four years, Governor Ayade is still tied down by “5 km of asphalt Road”!
People tell me to advise him “privately” rather than on Facebook.
I am sure he has lost nothing, but probably gained everything. But the State has suffered the usual wastage!
At Obudu, Lives have been lost. Livelihoods destroyed. Communities displaced forever.
Like Airport like Superhighway.
We will count the human cost of that Project for a long time to come without seeing the benefits.
This was needless and reckless.
If Governor Ayade had invested some of the money wasted in Superhighway, deep-sea Port, Obudu International Cargo Airport misadventures, on full rehabilitation of the Calabar- Ikom-Ogoja Highway, he would be a hero in Cross River State. The best part of it is that he would have the opportunity to reclaim the money from the Federal Government. Sen. Imoke did and he Gov Ayade received a refund of a whopping 18bn for money the state spent on federal roads. Only God knows what Gov. Ayade did with the refund, but that’s a story for another day.
What a waste it has been these past seven years! We just can’t wait for the nightmare to be over!
We must reclaim our state.
PDP is the answer. We thank God he removed himself from our midst so that we will not be speaking tongue in cheek during Campaigns!
~ Venatius Ikem.
