By Frank Ulom
The governor of Cross River State, Sen. Ben Ayade has been invested as a Knight of Saint John, KSJ International by the Roman Catholic Church.
Ayade was recognised and bestowed as a KSJ on Saturday at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, the seat of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Calabar, in the presence of the Archbishop of Calabar, Most Rev. Joseph E. Ekuwem.
Responding to his investiture as KSJ, Ayade said, “I’m humbled to have been inducted into the esteemed Knight of Saint John by the Catholic Church. This induction represents the end of my active struggle in human materialism; now I have started a new job, a journey towards God.
“I start a journey towards putting everything I have towards the attainment of the ultimate essence of mankind, bringing value to humanity and getting closer to God.
“I have indeed lived a lucky life with God taking me from my childhood to this day I have never spent a night in the hospital.
“So from today, I choose to serve God and rededicate the rest of my days to the service of God and mankind.”
The Governor in a separate statement promised to return back the six (6) primary schools taken over by the government in the past to the Catholic Church.
The Catholic church’s request necessitated the recently held 2019 mini-education summit, where Ayade said he could not go against the request of God.
He made the presentation to the Archbishop, the overall Catholic Church head in Cross River State, seeking to do more for God.