Category: Opinion

  • Citizens’ Solution Network’s Press release On June 12 Democracy Day

    Citizens’ Solution Network’s Press release On June 12 Democracy Day

    By Admin

    Today ought to be a day that we all are supposed to celebrate with great joy and jubilation. It is however sad that to note that, the current set of leaders we have in Nigeria are yet to truly live up to the spirit of June 12th.

    While we find the effort of the Buhari-led government to have made June 12 Nigeria’s Democracy Day commendable.

    We at Citizens Solutions Network believe more still need to be done to thoroughly and completely honour the spirit of June 12.

    As it stands, we are of the view that until the current crop of leaders we have in this country include M.K.O Abiola name among the official national list of Presidents we had ever had, their claim of believing in the ideology behind June 12 should be treated with strong and utmost suspicion.

    We at Citizens Solution Network strongly believe that, anything short of including M.K.O Abiola name among the gazetted list of Nigeria’s Presidents is a dangerous mockery of the entire struggle of June 12 that led to the death of several Nigerians, and a display of lack of genuine democratic acknowledgment and historical honesty.

    Let it be on public registry and national archive, that today, Citizens Solution Network demand the inclusion of M.K.O Abiola name to the officially recognised list of Presidents, Nigeria had ever had, and his name should come immediately after the name of IBB and before that of Abacha.

    This is the way to go to truly demonstrate sincerity to the idea and struggle. And for those saying, he never took the oath of office, we demand that the current Chief Justice of Nigeria should administer the oath to M.K.O Abiola posthumously. Let’s lead the world in this way by doing the right thing.

    Thanks

    Signed

    Richard F. Inoyo
    Country Director, Citizens Solution Network.

    For: Civilian Population and Council.

  • Vena Ikem’s Congratulatory Letter To Newly Elected Chairmen And Councillors In Cross River State

    Vena Ikem’s Congratulatory Letter To Newly Elected Chairmen And Councillors In Cross River State

    By Admin

    Welcome to A New Dawn: A letter of congratulations to The newly elected Chairmen and councillors in Cross River State.

    As Gov Ayade takes a few steps in the direction of the change we desire let me use this forum to encourage him and also congratulate the newly elected Chairmen of the 18 local govt councils and their vice Chairmen together with the 196 councillors and very soon about 518 appointees to various positions in the councils.

    It is not true that we do not appreciate when positive steps are taken in the polity. It is that we desire to see more positive steps than occur in recent times and so we are usually skeptical of the steps when taken until they are concluded.

    As the election process has been concluded we feel happy that a breathe of fresh air has been injected into the life of Cross Riverians, and into our body politics, no matter how Imperfect the process may seem. Already the euphoria that has greeted the new and incoming administrations is palpable and an indication that it is what the people desire. The people have been waiting for this for so long and they are happy that it has finally arrived !

    I want to congratulate Gov. Ayade for finally arriving at a convergence with me in my anxiety to see Democracy take root once again at the grassroots level of our state. As a product of this tier of Govt I cannot help myself but encourage it’s elevation as a critical catalyst for grassroots development.

    Let me use this opportunity to also advise the new administrations in the various councils, that despite the challenges you may face, you owe your people the onerous responsibility to deliver on some critical challenges that must be confronting them in order to endear yourselves to them.

    Our people are yearning most of all to be listened to. To be heard. Building gigantic projects might appeal to them because we all yearn for development, but what is most critical is giving them a listening ear, empathizing with them and making the right effort to appreciate their yearnings and aspirations. This is most exemplified in making yourselves available to them when they need you in a timely manner.

    Do not surround yourselves with too many ‘boys’ that will make it difficult for the ordinary citizen of the local govt to reach you and discuss with you, no matter how briefly once in a while. Do not create a “security” cordon around yourselves that insulates you from the people you have been given the responsibility to administer.

    For most of you, your political career begins now. How you lay the foundation will determine how far you can go. Some of us did this 29 years ago and we are still blessed to be around. The secret is really as simple as I am spelling out to you: Live simple. Keep in touch with your people. Don’t be in a hurry to get rich. A good and impactful politician never really gets rich! He or she is often too busy making sacrifices to remember to accumulate enough to get rich. In this class of 18/18/196, of 2020, new stars will be made. Future ministers, Governors, commissioners etc are already being groomed. Are you going to be one of the few or will you return to relative obscurity and blame Governor Ayade for not “allowing you to make money”?

    The Governor has given you this rare opportunity to distinguish yourselves which many have sought all their political career and never got. He cannot be your excuse for failure to live up to the aspirations of your people.

    Your people are watching as you change friends, change appetite, change women/ men change clothes and accommodation but your excuse will constantly be that “the governor is not giving us money”! But he is giving you enough to change all these things except offer a little helping hand to those who today are all over you, supporting you. Those who put their lives on the line and quarrelled with others in the bid to support you to get here.

    Watch your every step. Have empathy for your friends, brothers, sisters and electorates. If you think people are not seeing you, surely God is and will reward you abundantly over the course of time, if you do well, if not with material gratification, with long service to humanity and a good name.

    Eschew crisis as much as possible. Avoid trouble in your councils and always prefer the path of amicable resolution of differences and there will be peace in your councils, which is the ultimate desire of our people.

    Keep yourselves close, don’t harbour grudges against those who didn’t support you because you are now representing all.

    Most of all make yourselves a vessel for good, no matter how little, day by day and you will be amazed how much good you are capable of doing in a very short time.

    I want to live to be able to point at you in a couple of years at my retirement and say, (s)he was a chairman when Gov. Ayade organized the first local govt election and I was the State Chairman of our great Party !

    Wishing you God’s abiding graces and guidance throughout your tenure.

    Long live Cross River State!!!

    Long live The People’s Democratic Party! ( PDP).

    Vena. Ikem.

     

    Disclaimer: This opinion is strictly that of Vena. Ikem and does not represent THELUMINENEWS or its staff.

  • The Issue, The Threat, The Emptiness and The Call For Unification In Support of Agba Jalingo.

    The Issue, The Threat, The Emptiness and The Call For Unification In Support of Agba Jalingo.


    By Richard F. Inoyo – Calabar

    “If there must be war, let it happen in my days, that my children may have peace”

    ~ undercover agent ~

    It has been said time without number that, those who live in glass house, shouldn’t throw stone. The recent revelation brought to the consciousness of Nigerians across the country by brilliant investigative Journalist_ Citizen Agba Jalingo over the use of a 80years woman for photo op masterminded by Florence Ita Giwa as seen in a picture where the governor of Cross River State Mr. Ben Ayade claimed to have allocated a furnished house to the said old woman that showed that there was never a time the governor did such a thing as the perpetrators would want us to think has hit national newsrooms across the country.

    With that revelation led by the CrossRiverWatch Team, we have seen an hysteric Florence Ita Giwa running to Bakassi at the dead of the night to do damage control, and at the same time dishing out needless insults and calling worldclass investigative Journalist Agba Jalingo all kinds of unprintable names while attacking the blessed memory of Agba Jalingo’s progenitors.

    And as if that level of erratic utterances and badly mismanaged image-laundering isn’t enough, instead of Ita Giwa to provide and hand the said 80 years old woman all relevant documents and papers of ownership of the furnished house and for us all to move on_ she has gone ahead, abandoning the substance of the issue which basically has to do with ensuring the correction of the evil done against the 80years old woman, who is yet to move into the so called house they claimed they gave to her in their duplicitous plot.

    Seeing that the facts stack against her, in her latest roll of flurry borne out of the fact that her inhumane deeds were exposed by Investigative Journalist Agba Jalingo; Florence Ita Giwa has decided to leave the real issue of providing ownership documents to the 80years old woman, to pursuing the irrelevant issue of making a case about what particular date was pinpointed as the date she flew into calabar with threat of taking legal action against Investigative Journalist Agba Jalingo for telling the whole world that contrary to her claim, she was flown in, a day before the charade and shameless showmanship that outrageously saw an 80years old woman used as Guinea pig in the worst possible deception in modern day history.

    Let it be on her mental slate that, the general public is against her in this situation, and the whole world stands with Citizen Agba Jalingo. Decency and patriotism dictate that, as a people we should have more of brilliant Investigative Journalist like Agba Jalingo across the country who reveals false-dealings of government officials at all levels and speak truth to power, and none of Florence Ita Giwa who have problem seeing people exposing reprehensible duplicity and demanding justice for poor grandmother like the 80years old woman who she used in that ungodly act.

    Without leaving room for ambiguity, let it be abundantly clear that Nigerians need 10million Agba Jalingos across the country to hold government accountable, and zero number of the likes of Florence Ita Giwa for doing very little for the poor people of Bakassi all this time but yet claim to represent and pretending to have done so much during all these long dark years in the history of Bakassi with very little to show for it.

    Florence Ita Giwa needs to come down from her fractured high hill and quickly realise that, we are all fed up with her antics and antecedence which none of us would wish any person to emulate.

    I call on all Cross Riverians in particular, and Nigerians in General, to unite and defend Agba Jalingo for exposing terrors in high places. The last thing we need is a society without Agba Jalingo.

    I can live with a society without Florence Ita Giwa, but definitely not one without dedicated and patriotic journalist like Agba Jalingo.

    Let history vindicate us all as we stand by Agba Jalingo in every court against all empty and frivolous charges brought forth by any person on earth.

    Mma has only one honourable path to take, which is to hand the 80years old woman her Certificate of Ownership and Occupancy, and scrap the crap of litigating over date-schedule which would only over extend the televisionalisation of her deed on social media screens for as long as such shrapnel litigation lasts. All we demand is justice for the 80years old woman, and not egotrip that has been tripped.

    Signed.

    Richard F. Inoyo
    Country Director, Citizens Solution Network.

    For Civilian and Population Council.

     

    NB: This is strictly the opinion of Richard F. Inoyo and does not in anyway represent that of THELUMINENEWS or its staff.

  • Bakassi Returnees: How Ayade Wept, Promised, Delivered On Housing Estate

    Bakassi Returnees: How Ayade Wept, Promised, Delivered On Housing Estate

    By Linus Obogo – Calabar

    He came as a leader whose fate was inextricably intertwined  with the displaced and dispossessed people of Bakassi.

    At every forum, Governor  Ben Ayade wrenched quite a volume of tears enough to form a lake or drown a community, while speaking about the level of crass insensitivity on the part of the federal authorities who orchestrated the destitution, despair and abandonment of the Bakassi people who were for 18 harrowing years rendered refugees in their own country.

    Mindlessly decoupled from their ancestral land by the overlord central government, the people of Bakassi were left to their fate, to live a life only akin to that of the pastoral nomads.

    With a fishing community rendered homeless for over 18 solid years, a future shortcircuted, and countless thousands of people including widows, the aged, children mowed down like a field of grain, by hungervirus, considered deadlier than Coronavirus and with abject compunction from those before him, Ayade could ill-afford any numbness to the horrors and miseries of the Bakassi people.

    Ayade cried when they cried and oftentimes much more than the “bereaved”. He railed at the atrociousness of the conspirators, tugged at their heartstrings and hurled stinging reprimand at the manner in  which an entire commune was ceded, culminating in children being sundered from their parents as well as wives being severed from their breadwinners.

    He wore their shoes, felt their pains and shared amply from their cries.

    In 2017, as a mark of solidarity with the displaced Bakassi people, Ayade, while marking his 49 birthday, had to relocate to Ikpa Nkanya village, Ikot Eyo ward, where the returnees were camped.

    He feted, dined and celebrated with them.

    The governor had told a vast concourse of the gathering then that “The Bakassi people have been dislocated from their ancestral homes, denied the pleasure of worship and decent accommodation, reduced in want and in spirit just because they are not strong enough to fight back. I come as a child from that humble beginning to say that we must all come together to make a difference and that difference must start now.”

    Ayade’s cries and such other palpable emotions would no sooner form the soundtrack on which an upscale 52 unit 2-bedroom housing estate was delivered on Friday, May 29, as he clocked five years in office as governor.

    Delivered devoid of the traditional fanfare and banality which usually characterize such grandiose events, the project which began barely a year ago is no doubt a bold statement of what representative leadership is all about. It loudly demonstrated what a servant leader is. That it must be people-centered.

    When Governor Ayade made the solemn pledge early in the life of his administration to build the Bakassi returnees shelter, many thought it was impossible, or at best one of the hollow political promises that hardly see the light of day, given the state’s parlous economy. But Ayade as he is wont to assure, “I will give my left eye to keep my words”, indeed walked his talk.

    For a leader who had severaly voiced such epithets as “giving my right eye to keep my words”, “I give, not because I have so much but because I care so much”, “The true African anthropology is the one that says that you must provide a shoulder for your weaker brother to lean on”, Governor Ayade would no sooner set sail with this handful of epithets as a guide and steer a steady course, like an emigrant to the islands of the blest.

    Situated at Ifiang Ayong area of Bakassi Local Government Area, the fully furnished estate has come as a long awaited welcome intervention in the harrowing experience of homelessness by the refugees who have been living in squalor, having converted a primary school in Akpabuyo Council Area of the state to their home.

    For once, a leader with a milk of human kindness emerged on the scene and remembered that there indeed existed victims of societal cruelty who must be clawed back from sub human existence and from a life of slum.

    The gift of a decent housing estate for the hitherto forgotten people of Bakassi is therefore obviously an enduring lesson that a true leader is one who understands that leadership is not about oneself but about those you serve. It is not about exalting oneself but about lifting others up.

    And for once, the returnees will long remember that there was a leader in the person of Ayade who showed them love, care and concern.

    The first of its kind anywhere around, the governor was aware that giving the Bakassi people shelter, was not going  to be enough, he gave them a home, promising to expand it.

    It is indeed a home by any standard. It has amenities like power- public power, standby generator, solar lighting, water system and such other utilities that guarantee decent living and comfort.

    Located in nature’s pampering hands, the estate could pass for an upscale home, well appointed and comes with tastefully interior design and quality furnishings.

    Indeed, if that was the reward for being a refugee, the sheer elegance of the estate is more than enough to compel anyone to want to assume the status of a refugee, just to own one.

    In fact, what makes the estate spectacularly unique is that it is a social housing which ownership is held in perpetuity, where the property is the owners’ to keep forever.

    As part of ensuring that the returnees do not luxuriate in the wonderful comfort of their new home, and forget their mainstay, which is fishing, Governor Ayade went a notch higher by acquiring a fishing boat to enable them sustain themselves while in the estate.

    What’s  more, with the governor’s announcement of a N50 million donation as well as other economic stimulus package, life couldn’t be any more promising as the returnees now begin what could be described as a refreshing start to life from what was once a slum existence characterised  by gloom and doom.

    But on this day, May 29, Ayade did not only put a new song in their mouth with the provision  of a exotic roofs over their heads, but he also put a future in their hands as they can now own their lives and begin to control their destinies.

    For a people who had always made crying a soothing balm to their pain and anguish since they were severed from their ancestral home and left in the cold, their cry on this day they were taking custody of their houses was one of joy and fulfillment, and fulfillment that their long years of misery and wondering in wilderness has come to a screeching end, as a redeemer in Governor Ayade finally showed up and made a telling difference in their once abject lives.

    Linus Obogo is Deputy Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ayade

  • Kidnapping And Executive Demolitions: Citizens Solution Network’s Perspective

    Kidnapping And Executive Demolitions: Citizens Solution Network’s Perspective

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    By Richard F. Inoyo

    Exactly two weeks ago, as the Country Director of Citizens Solution Network, I put up an article in respect to the disturbing trend of kidnapping and called on citizens, state and federal governments as well as the Nigerian Police Force across the country to do their own part in the fight against kidnapping. That article was largely borne out of my dedication to the course of ensuring that as a society we nib in the bud negative gales destabilizing the sanctity of a rational and safe society.

    That said, the recent demolition of the property of a citizen accused of kidnapping by the Cross River State Government has created a new kind of concern.

    While it is on record that as a people we are all unhappy with the negative trend of kidnapping, and the fact that we all are genuinely opposed to the unlawful adoption and inhumane incarceration of another man by a group of miscreants in quest of ransome which kidnapping is all about.

    Yet, even as extremely important as it is for us all to reinvent ourselves to confront and defeat the scourge of kidnapping in our society through intelligence gathering and counter-kipnapping response. It also of equal importance to ensure that this fight against this terrible crime is carried out in such a way that no innocent person is allowed to suffer, and no perpetrator escapes the sword and wrath of justice.

    At this juncture, in order to ensure that we achieve such outcome, it would be vitally necessary to find and engage the best possible crime-tackling protocol that prevent possible executive abuse and misuse of power especially in today’s world where any person can accuse you over anything without evidence.

    And in building this error-minimization protocol of justice administration, it is important we start by taking into cognisance and asking the following question:

    “What if today someone accuses some of you of kipnapping and have your house demolished without court hearing or zero body of compelling proof? How would you feel and what would be your fate?

    Though the recent demolition of the houses of some persons accused of kidnapping by the Cross River State is backed by laws adopted by various states in 2015, but it is still questionable and create room for possible miscarriage in administration of criminal justice under the caprices of executive order.

    As a rule, the idea of separation of power should be central to all law enforcement protocol, lest bunch of executive fellows with questionable agenda may hunt down critics or dissidents in future by simply accusing them of kidnapping and have their properties confiscated or demolished without pronouncement from the Judiciary_ which happens to be the most acceptable arm of government saddled with all extant powers to entertain, try and pronounce binding judgement on accused, arrested and prosecuted persons in the light of evidence beyond reasonable doubt and bias.

    Going forward, I wish to seize this medium to ask us all to call for and demand overwhelming evidence at all times that will apprehended and overseen by an exhaustive trial of all accused persons in assigned court of competent jurisdiction before bringing down the properties of any accused person in furtherance of equity, avoidance of doubt, high-level of proof and justification of every state action.

    This I believe is the best way to safeguard a society of more powerless men, and avert error in executive decisions led by few men who a sad part of our collective history has shown that some executives had never truly cared about the poorest and most powerless demographics of our fragile society.

    Signed

    Richard F. Inoyo
    Country Director,
    Citizens Solutions Network.

    For: Civilian Population and Council.

  • C’River State Local Government Election And My Dilemma – YPP Chairman

    C’River State Local Government Election And My Dilemma – YPP Chairman

    By Elijah Ugani – Calabar

    The Chairman of the Young Progressive Party YPP, Cross River State chapter, Comr. Anthony Bisong has stated that he is in a state of dilemma in view of the Cross River State local government election slated for 30th May, 2020.

    In a release made available to THE LUMINE NEWS, and signed by himself indicates that he desire has been to have a functional local government system to boost grass root representation.

    Full text of the release “In the past 48 hours, I’ve been inundated with calls from different quarters to state my position on the newly published time table for the long awaited Local Government Election. I’ve maintained a studied silence until now due to the complex nature of the issues on ground.

    “Recall that my party, the Young Progressives Party, YPP has had the most rancorous and turbulent outings against the CROSIEC Chairman, Dr. Mike Ushie as a result of what we considered as inconsistencies in the process of filing candidates. Our reservation in that case has not changed. Moreover, we also express our reservation about the cacophony that has followed the new date for the election.

    “It is also important to recall that on the 18th of July last year, I led a protest under the aegis of Coalition of CRS Civil Society Organizations to demand for the conduct of Local Government Election in the State. My desire has been to have a functional Local Government system to boost grassroots representation. I didn’t protest because I wanted to contest the election myself, neither did I protest because I felt my party must win election at all cost. My agitation for grassroots representation has been very altruistic.

    “For the first time in a long time I’ve found myself in a serious dilemma. I’m clearly standing between the devil and the deep blue sea. However, as an advocate of grassroots administration, it’s contradictory to boycott an election that will usher in legitimate functionaries for the Local Government. This is even more important given the preponderance of condemnation that greeted the approval of about #5.4 billion naira by the CRS House of Assembly, a responsibility that is exclusively meant for the Local Government Executives.

    “General speaking, I hold a firm opinion that it would be easier to demand for accountability from elected Representatives. Every political party seeks to win elections but we also have the duty of demanding for accountability from those in power. Therefore, whoever wins in the forthcoming election will definitely come under our scrutiny as we’ll monitor the day to day running of our Local Government Councils.

    “On the strength of the aforesaid, I here state categorically that Young Progressives Party, YPP, Cross River State Chapter support the conduct of Local Government Election in Cross River State come 30th May, 2020. Let it also be on record that we are not in coalition with any party contesting the coming election. Our decision is solely in the interest of Cross River State. Having waited for elections for over four years, we feel compelled to support the new date so that our State can join the league of States with functional grassroots Representatives which we believe would help alleviate our local economy as well as support the fight against COVID 19 at the grassroots.

    “The major concern of our great party is the forthcoming Bye election in Cross River Northern Senatorial District. We are hopeful that the good people of CR North having learnt their lessons in the past will support us to elect a Senator they can call their own. All our energies and resources are therefore going to be channeled towards winning CR Northern Senatorial District Bye-Election”

    Comrade Anthony Bissong Attah

    State Chairman (Chief Servant)
    Young Progressives Party, YPP, CRS

  • Ben Akak Foundation: Touching Lives With Sympathy And Relief

    Ben Akak Foundation: Touching Lives With Sympathy And Relief

    By Ogar Emmanuel Oko

    The Cross River State government under the guide of His Excellency, Sir Benedict Ayade has been lauded by Nigeria Centre of Disease Control (NCDC) for its emulative and forehanded preventive measures put in place to curtail the spread of covid-19 pandemic. Accolades have been trailing this achievement and the governor likes it. We all like it too because, it has placed our beloved state on global map for positive reason and the world sees us with their prism as beacon of hope regarding any eventuality of combating pestilential disease. This is the fruit of proactiveness.

    Albeit, as an individual, I would wish to suggest that the feat be considered a collective achievement and the ultimate glory be ascribed to the Maker of the universe. While this is being considered, we must not bat an eyelid or rest on our oars as the war being waged against the virus is yet over. I so say because it is my deliberate effort to avow that this celebrated feat was achieved with less dissipation of energy as the state government stood on the shoulders of not a few giants in attaining such height. Amongst them, is the Ben Akak Foundation. Though, there are corporate organizations like Skyrun International, United Bank of Africa (UBA) and the rest.

    On the tapis for discussing first is the mentioned foundation. I don’t know when the foundation was established and I don’t care to know because it’s immaterial. All I care to know is its mission and perhaps vision too! The mission is the apparent reflection what they’ve been doing— to better the lives of people and making the world a better place to inhabit!

    When the latent heat of the pandemic started having it impacts being felt, the government having realized that the dependency on each other was necessary mostly at that early turn of the outbreak, and having knew they couldn’t have been self-sufficient in the battle of covid-19; the Health Commissioner in her many advocacies and sensitization exercises called for the assistance of all and sundry to conjoin forces with the state government. Not minding the existing strain on the Foundation’s budget, due to the number of times it has been called upon for help, Ben Akak Foundation took up the gauntlet by answering the noblest and humanistic call by making yet another round of donation.

    Moved by the spirit of gratitude over the solidarity of the Foundation, Dr. Betta Edu said the foundation has gone beyond bound to show enormous support to the state as this is a fight for humanity. Items donated was 300 sanitizers; 400 surgical gloves, thermometers, 200 face masks, bags of rice and N1 million.

    Awareness on this virus and many others appears an uphill task. Laborious! In plain language, information on covid-19 pandemic is still not sufficient for those living in the hinterlands as most of these places aren’t accessible and as such, most of them know little or nothing about the virus. It’s sequel to the aforesaid that the Ben Akak Foundation has embarked on rigorous sensitization campaign in conjunction with the 18 paramount rulers in the state and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) to bring the awareness to the dwellers. The effects of covid-19 in such places would be fatal with ripple effects due to the communal lifestyle of poor hygiene practices. Therefore, the foundation deserves gift of flowers for its door-to-door campaign.
    No doubt they’re many foundations in the state. But the foundation under consideration stands out as the only one with far reaching tentacles across the three senatorial districts.
    To the administrative team of the foundation, humanity will remain grateful to you all even beyond the vicissitudes of this moment.
    To the founder, Engr. Ben Akak, your deeds shall always speak for you far better than anything in private and in public.

     

  • Three Years Is Enough To Create Impact And Reengineer Governance To Meet The Yearnings And Aspirations Of The People – Imbua

    Three Years Is Enough To Create Impact And Reengineer Governance To Meet The Yearnings And Aspirations Of The People – Imbua


    By Elijah Ugani – Calabar

    A seasoned academician, technocrat and administrator per excellent, Associate Prof. Dave Imbua of the department of History and International Studies, University of Calabar, Calabar, has stated that three years is enough time to create impact and reengineer governance to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the people.

    Imbua who took to his Facebook wall @Dave Mbua to express his opinion being the only avenue available for him to contribute to the development of the state in response to the emotions that led to Gov Ben Ayade sharing tears while he inaugurated the Anti-Tax Agency on Wednesday, May 20th, 2020 at the Exco Chambers of the Governor’s office, Calabar.

    “We now return from emotions to reason and truth. A man who channels the commonwealth of a people into a jamboree of ago massaging projects at the expense of amenities that address the pressing needs of the overwhelming masses will definitely cry at each point that conscience suppresses sycophancy.

    “Now that we are all on the same page as it concerns our gains and losses in the last five years, it is important to re-engineer governance to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the people.

    “Three years is enough time to create impact. But if the think tank and advisers insist that the path taken is not only the best but also irreversible, then three years is a very short time. I wish the current rehearsals for the post-2023 wailings can be nipped in the bud”

  • Ayade, The Cry Cry Baby In Peregrino House

    Ayade, The Cry Cry Baby In Peregrino House

    By Agba Jalingo – Lagos

    Yesterday, my governor, Senator Ben Ayade cried AGAIN while launching the anti-taxation agency in Calabar. The agency is meant to ensure low income earners do not pay taxes in Cross River state. His tears actually touched a soft chord in the minds of many people across the country and several of them have circulated the video back to me. One person who is not even in Cross River state said, their earlier scheduled meeting started with the video where governor Ayade was crying and most people in the meeting also started crying along with the governor whom they concluded is a lover of the poor and this is very impressive.

    But if tears were a true measure of our pain, even Hitler’s drops would be preserved in the alabaster bottle. That is the irony and the double edged nature of that readily available liquid. Once emotions are evoked, in no direction essentially, tears can start flowing and oftentimes, the person whose tears flow down the cheeks, doesn’t even know why they flow until composure is regained.

    So tears are not necessarily an expression of concern, rather, tears can fittingly be described as the defecation of pent up emotions which could also be spontaneous. Tears could also be a pontilitous attempt at hood winking the unsuspecting public into collective amnesia, particularly for politicians.

    The later is where I will categorize the incessant tears of our governor, Senator Ben Ayade and I will tell you why.

    Apart from the poorly substantiated tales of his crying for the poor before his coming into politics, yesterday was the fourth time governor Ayade will be crying in public. But guess what, each time he cried, nothing followed!

    Before you get hoodwinked by yesterday’s tears, let me take you down memory lane.

    17 January 2017, Governor Ayade announced the abolition of all forms of taxation for low-income earners in Cross River state. The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor and Senior Special Assistant Media, Mr. Christian Ita, in a press statement said those affected by the tax exemption are people earning below N50, 000 monthly, taxi, tricycle, wheel barrows, and motor cycle operators as well as petty traders and hoteliers.

    He said Governor Ben Ayade, who gave the order after signing the 2017 appropriation bill of N707 billion, had reiterated the need to provide some economic reliefs to low income earners in the state with regards to taxes.

    Ayade, after signing the budget had warned that: “I am sounding the last warning that henceforth I don’t want to hear anyone who earns less than N50, 000 a month being taxed in any form in the state….In the same vein, I don’t want to see a hotel that is struggling to survive with challenges of diesels being chased by government officials over taxes. I have warned anybody, who is still collecting money from these people to stop forthwith…I have seen poverty in my personal life and I know what that small N2, 000 means to them.

    “It is clear to emphasise here that at this point, no nation, no state and no administrative authority can tax her people to prosperity…God has given us an elevated platform of authority to use our intellects and support them and not to suppress them. Why would government put a burden on people earning less than a N1, 000 a day with wife and children, shopping in the same market with the rich, who earn over N300, 000 monthly? I would rather tax my intellect to prosperity than taxing my people because we have sufficient education, exposure and experience, which we need to bring to bear for the prosperity of our people, which is why they elected us.”

    That was in 2017. YES 2017!!!. Very characteristic of Ayade. He cried after that. Three years after, more than 70 percent of businesses operating in Calabar have left because of multiple taxation.

    Yesterday, he repeated almost the same words he spewed in 2017 verbatim and cried again and the gullible are already crying along with him.

    That is not all!

    In August 2016, Governor Ayade visited Bakassi and cried after seeing the conditions that some returnees lived in. He made an instant donation of N3million. He was accompanied by a representative of the Mayor of Dortmund, Fuss Friedrich whom he said will build free houses for the returnees. He had introduced the man who followed him as the Mayor but it turned out he was “lying.”

    Again in March 2017, during the courtesy visit of the National Commissioner of the National Commission for Migrants, Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, Hajia Sadiya Farouk in the government house, Governor Ayade cried over the status of the Bakassi returnees. He wept and vowed to do everything he can to resettle the people of Bakassi and called on government not to neglect them. I don’t know whether the people of Bakassi have been resettled after that crying.

    April 10, 2018, Governor Ayade also broke down in tears at the conference room of the government house when he asked his aide on Religious Affairs, Rev. Fr. Bob Etta to pray while signing the NGN1.3 trillion budget of Kinetic Crystallization into law. He cried also because he said the budget was going to de-couple the State from federal allocation and lift the poor out of poverty.

    But shortly after that, CrossRiverWatch news editor, Jonathan Ugbal and three others were arrested for allegedly photographing two commissioners including the immediate past Attorney General of the State, that were sleeping during that exercise. Till date, even the hard copy of the budget is not available to the public not to talk of the promises inside.

    My ten kobo advise to my governor is that the poor can never be freed from poverty by exempting them from taking responsibility. Taxation is not a burden. It is a civic duty for the collective good of the society. Taxes should be reduced, rebates given and made convenient for even the poorest of the citizens to pay with intermittent holidays. Taxes should not be a burden but they should also not be taken away. They are our right and civic duty. Taxes are Biblical. Taxes are a way of ensuring that every citizen of age and ability takes responsibility for the collective upkeep of the society and also ensure government is accountable. Every government that wants to abolish taxes is tilting towards a lack of accountability.

    In a state where the total monthly IGR is less than N1billion and federal allocation is one of the lowest amidst crashing oil prices, abolition of taxes is not magnanimity. It is naivety. Don’t come here and tell me about those thrash called I-Money and G-Money and OPM.

    Finally, I agree wholely that crying is not a sign of weakness. We all cry. I cry too. Even our Lord Jesus cried. But what the governor needed to do yesterday was not another round of crying or a regurgitation of same things he has been saying since 2017 as if he was saying something new, he rather needs to ensure that his aides take him more seriously and respect his orders and commands and directives. If they had done that, poor people would have long had some respite from the tax masters over 3 years ago and our cry cry baby in Peregrino House would have rested his face towel, at least…

    Yours sincerely
    Citizen Agba Jalingo.

    #1103DaysToGo
    #CryCryGovernor
    #StopCryingDoTheWork
    #HoldLeadersAccountable

     

    NB. The Opinions Expressed Are Of Agba Jalingo In His Personal Capacity And Does Not Representing THE LUMINE NEWS.

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  • Remembering Okang Peter And Governor Ayade’s Endless Tears

    Remembering Okang Peter And Governor Ayade’s Endless Tears

    By Anthony Bisong Attah

    On the 23rd of March, 2020, I got a call from Okan Peter to speak on CRBC TV. I declined the invitation because it was on a national issue I didn’t consider too interesting. We both laughed when I assured him that I was going to be available to discuss on critical issues affecting the State. Hitherto, I have been his guest on Sparkling FM and we’ve met at different occasions at FAD FM, Calabar.

    The news of his demise on the 31st of March, 2020 rented the State media space for a long time. This was due largely because of his visibility as a rising media guru. I knew Okan first on the 16th of September, 2017 when he covered the launching of my party, the Young Progressives Party YPP in the State at the Transcorp Hotel, Calabar. He demonstrated unaccustomed passion and dedication to his job as he straddled the Pearl Ball hall with his camera to ensure every detail of the MISS YPP COMPETITION was properly captured.

    I’m not good at writing or even commenting on the dead because of the emotions it evokes especially to the family and their loved ones. However, each time I recall events before the demise of my friend, two things readily strikes my mind; one, he spent many years as a volunteer staff of CRBC and just when he was absorbed into the system as a full staff he became a victim of the 2500 Civil Servants who’s names were delisted from the State payroll since September last year. He was set to attend the screening interview that was postponed on the 24th of March before he died one week later. Secondly, he was still being owed by the State Government for the role he played during last year Carnival Festival themed ‘Humanity’.

    I was shock as I watched our Governor, His Excellency, Sir Benedict Ayade weeping profusely in the now viral video during the inauguration of the State Anti Tax Committee. For the avoidance of doubt, the terms of reference given to the committee chaired by Bishop Emmah Isong are not new to Cross Riverians at all. We are already used to the empty rhetorics and the theatrical distraction of weeping by the Governor. Maybe he would have been a better ‘undertaker’ than an Executive Governor, knowing that weeping alone without action has never solved any problem. A Governor that cannot weep for owing Civil Servants a whopping nine months salary arrears and 5 months unpaid stipends and Honorarium to those who toiled day and night including personal Financial commitment to see to the success of the State sponsored Carnival should not weep at all. A Governor that withholds over five years gratuity of retired Civil Servants in the State should not think that shedding ‘Iguana tears’ is a safety valve to negotiate public sympathy and gain citizen’s confidence.

    We are tired of seeing our Governor admit his failures openly with tears as smokescreen to cover for his negligence and incompetence. We prefer to see our Governor braze up to the challenge of governance by minimising cost and deploying lean state resources to areas that directly affect the citizens.

    Like my late friend, Okan Peter, several other Cross Riverians have died without being paid for several months and others have gone without enjoying their Honorarium after several months of labouring to make the 2019 Carnival a success story. A lot of retirees have died and others consigned to inhuman conditions after giving 35 years of meritorious Service to the State. These are the things that should make a good Governor to weep.

    My friend Okan is gone already but he left a family behind. I pray the Governor pays his Honorarium to his family and get a member of his family to replace him in his place of employment or elsewhere. That’s the best way to immortalize a young man who died on an empty stomach while serving the State.

    Comrade Anthony Bissong Attah
    State Chairman (Chief Servant)
    Young Progressives Party, YPP, CRS

     

     

    NB. Opinions Expressed Here Are Strictly That Of Anthony And Does Not Represent The Lumine News.