Ayade said that the appointments were to alleviate poverty in the oil-rich south-south state which was at a time accused of owing workers’ salaries
The governor of Cross River state Prof. Ben Ayade has carried out a shocking act by appointing 1,106 advisers into his cabinet despite the biting recession. Punch reports that Ayade made the appointments into various positions on Tuesday, October 25.
The positions, it reported, were that of special advisers, special assistants, personal assistants as well as the chairmen and members of boards, commissions, departments and agencies.
These new appointments join thee intial 28 commissioners, 65 special advisers and over 100 special assistants, personal assistants and community relations officers that were already in Ayade’s cabinet. Breakdown of the new appointment saw 799 people appointed into various boards, commissions and agencies while the remaining 307 appointees were 6 special advisers, 30 senior special advisers, 75 special assistants and 25 Personal Assistants.
Also included are 16 personal assistants to paramount rulers, 90 representatives of each local government in the state food bank unit, 21 liaison officers for the 18 local government area and three senatorial districts, 18 special assistants on religious affairs and 26 permanent secretaries.
Ayade’s senior special assistant on media and chief press secretary Christian Ita, who confirmed the appointments in a statement issued on Tuesday said they take effect from November 1, 2016.
The governor had vowed in a media conference in August to have over 1,000 political appointees for poverty alleviation in the state.
The action has however been described as unnecessary by a former special adviser to Ayade on Strategy and National Contact Ray Ugba-Morphy.
“He is a governor who understands all the appointments that he is making. But considering the lean purse of the state, it is not necessary because those already appointed have not been properly settled.
“The wages of political appointees are fixed by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission as stipulated by the law, but he (Ayade) has not met those requirements. “It is right if the appointments are meant to settle political scores, but economically, it is not viable.
He should create opportunity for people to have skills to earn a living,” Ugba-Morphy told Punch. Ugba-Morphy resigned from Ayade’s cabinet.
We recalls that there was some controversy over Cross River state’s salary to workers. According to some workers, they were owed salaries as at August 2016 but the state government denied the reports. Cross River state was also listed as one of the states owing salaries.
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