By CrossRiverWatch admin
Cross River born lawyer, civil rights campaigner, and politician, Barrister Obono Obla has commended the governor of Cross River State, Senator Ben Ayade for having the courage to discipline civil servants who came late on his first day of resumption of work as governor of the state.
Barrister Obla, a long time staunch critic of the opposition PDP also lampooned the signature projects proposed by the new governor, including the dualization of the Calabar-Ikom-Ogoja-Obudu Highway and the construction of a state owned seaport in Calabar, as not feasible and beyond the purview of the state government.
In different updates on his facebook timeline, the fiery activist, said, “I commend Governor Ayade for locking out civil servants in the Governor’s Office in Calabar yesterday who report late for work. This disciplinary measure by Governor Ayade will surely send a strong message to these civil servants that it is the dawn of a new era of discipline, hard work and accountability in the country. However Governor Ayade should pay these civil servants in order to motivate them into greater productivity.” He said.
In the same vein, Obla dismissed the Governor’s proposed signature projects as mere platitudes: “All this talk about construction of a Calabar-Ikom-Obudu superhighway is just plain platitudes. Even if he is going to use Build and Operate form of contract, this Road is a Federal Government Highway under the Constitution and the Federal Highway Act, Laws of the Federation 2010 respectively. Under the Constitution all trunk A roads in the country belong to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“The Calabar – Ikom – Obudu Highway is classified as a trunk A road under the Federal Highway Act. Even if the Federal Government would allow or permit Cross River State Government to rehabilitate the road; I doubt if the Federal Government would allow the Cross River State to sign a Build and Operate contract with a third party concerning the road. In other words under the country’s division of power between the States and the Federal Government , all trunk A roads fall within the legislative competence of the National Assembly nay the Federal Government .
“Governor Ayade should desist from making empty promises and quickly settle down to clear the mess and debris left by Liyel Imoke’s corrupt and incompetent government. Governor Ayade must promptly see to the reopening of the courts in the State that have been under lock and key since December 2014. Governor Ayade should quickly pay civil servants the back log of their salary Governor Ayade should meet the demands of Public Health Workers in the State who have been on strike since February 2015.” He concluded.