Imoke’s Absence, Salary Arrears Stall Weekly State Executive Council Meetings

By Albert Albert

As days pass by, it is becoming clear that all is not well with the way the State is presently being run by the State Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke.

Information reaching CrossRiverWatch indicate that apart from the non-payment of the salaries of civil servants in the state which has entered its third month now, the weekly State Executive Council meeting held every Wednesday is also hardly being held.

CrossRiverWatch, gathered that the State Executive Council meeting which is the state equivalent of the Federal Executive Council, FEC Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 4, 2015 could not hold as members of the Council who went to the executive chambers for the usual weekly meeting were said to have waited for the head of the Executive Council, Senator Imoke, for several hours to come and declare open the meeting but to no avail.

We reliably learnt that none of the Executive Council members was informed that both the Governor his Deputy were not going to be around for the weekly meeting, something that is unusual.

Our government house source also told us that the Commissioners, Special Assistants and other Political office holders who are members of the Cross River State Executive Council, were “dumb founded and confused that the governor could not let any of them know that there was not going to be a meeting, coupled with the fact that even his deputy was equally conspicuously absent, meaning that both of them were aware that there was not going to be a meeting, but could not put other members on the know.”

An SA that spoke to us in a private conversation said “These days na inside private jet oga dey sleep from Abuja to Lagos and sometimes Calabar. Since morning we don dey wait again today and even as dem no say deputy sef no go come, dem for just tell us make we go do another thing but no! they keep us here ooooo…..na wao! Make this election come pass quick abeg.”

Another source told us that one of the reason the governor and his deputy are staying away from the Executive Council meeting was to avoid a discussion of the non-payment of Cross River State Workers salaries for two full months, heading to three months now, and other pressing issues that are affecting the state.

CrossRiverWatch gathered that it was after a long wait in the Executive Chambers that the members decided file out and go back to their various houses/offices.