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| Governor Ben Ayade, Executive Governor of Cross River State |
Asuquo Cletus Felix, Calabar
As governor Ben Ayade prepares to handover after 8 years of leading the Cross River State Executive Council as Governor of the state, he has warned that only government vehicles that are due for boarding, should be boarded.
This directive was issued through a press release signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Christian Ita, Esq, as seen by our correspondent.
The statement also noted that the right of first refusal should be given to those to whom the vehicles are officially attached
When contacted, Ita informed that the directives was necessary as it was a tradition to auction official properties such as vehicles at the end of every administration. He added that the directives was just to ensure that only vehicles due for such purposes were sold off.
” You know there’s a specific number of years required before a vehicle is boarded, so the directive was necessary to ensure that only such vehicles were boarded. And that the persons using such vehicles should first be contacted. Only when they are not interested before it can be sold to another person.” Ita explained.
When asked if how many of such vehicles were due for boarding, he said he wasn’t aware. Adding that his job was just to set the direction as stipulated by law.
“The State Governor, His Excellency, Prof. Ben Ayade has directed that only government vehicles that are due for boarding should be boarded.
“His Excellency further directs that the Right of First Refusal should be given to those to whom the vehicles are officially attached.
“This is to ensure a transparent, smooth, and orderly process.”- It reads.
Our Correspondent while putting up this report made several contacts to ascertain which of the MDAs is responsible for boarding of the vehicles, unfortunately nobody seems to know, but all fingers points at the newly commissioned Ministry of Asset management.
When contacted, Mr Udiba Udiba, Commissioner for Asset Management could not be reached as calls made on his mobile phone were not reachable as at press time.
This story will be updated as soon as he is reached and response to questions