Efio-Ita Nyok|3 May 2016|6:40am
World over, every 1st of May is deemed Workers' Day. The 2016 edition of this day was celebrated with pomp and pageantry among workers of Cross River State, whether in the civil service or private sector.
Surprisingly, 2016 May Day will well go down as a Day to be remembered in Cross River State Civil Service, whether for good or bad depending on which part of the divide one is. This is owing to the fact that while civil servants of the state were busy having fun at the stadium on Sunday, they began experiencing something unusual —bank credit alerts notifying them of the payment of their salaries for the month of May. Usually, salaries are supposed to be paid towards the end of the month. This time it was at the beginning of the month. What a May Day! What a Governor!
Reports have it that workers' cheers rented the air of the venue of the match pass. Critics as usual have lambasted the governor for paying workers before they deserved to be remunerated. Some have hinged their position on the fact that an executive disposition of such will introduce lack of commitment on the part of the staff of the state civil service, etc. Other critics have highlighted the fact that the approach is faulty in that workers will have to stay for an additional 50 to 60 days before they are remunerated. Implying that this Executive May Day surprise is like granting the workers an advanced bank draft. Other criticisms have highlighted another dimension to workers' pay which is the aspect of not paying local government staff, retirees, and former politicians (their severance packages). From every indication, 2016 May Day was not celebrated across board because for Ayade only staff of the Cross River State Civil Service are 'workers'. Others may have another designation but certainly not 'workers'.
From the foregone rendition the idea of consistently paying a section of your work force and leaving out the others to rot away is suspect already. This brings us to the question of why did Sen. Prof. Ben Ayade, the Executive Governor of Cross River State and facilitator of the election campaign mantra 'politics with ethics' decide to pay only staff of Cross River State Civil Service on May Day 2016? Why Ayade Paid May 2016 Salaries on May Day, better still.
I am surprised that many may not have seen it coming. Governor Ayade is smart and made a futile attempt to forestall his suspicion: Come 29th May 2016, Governor Ben Ayade will be exactly one year into office as the Executive Governor of Cross River State. He rose on the wings of a menu of campaign promises, during the 2015 general elections, to defeat other opponents gunning, as at the time, for the same office especially Odey Ochicha of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Fidelis Ugbo of the Labour Party (LP) to become the political head of the state. The agitation by 29th May will be, has Ayade succeeded in translating his numerous campaign promises into concrete realities in whatever sphere of our existence as a state? What has Senator and Professor Ben Ayade succeeded in accomplishing after 365 days in office?
Beyond the election campaign promises, which policy statement, as touted by Ayade himself or his aides, have concretely found positive placement or is poised to find positive placement in the lives of the indigenes/inhabitants of Cross River within this one year —May 29, 2015 – May 28, 2016?
If my memory serves me well, Governor Ben Ayade has actualised only one thing certainly or arguably two. This one thing is the completion of the Calabar Monorail Rail. The second which will generate controversy is the supposed prompt payment of salaries. It stands to reason therefore that Gov. Ayade decided to pay May 2016 remuneration upfront in the attempt to douse the moral tension that will be incited by the discovery, by the 2015 electorate, that elections campaign promises have failed to concretise themselves. If May 29, 2015 – May 28, 2016 constitute 25% of Ayade's 2015-2019 tenure in office, the question becomes has Ayade actualised even 25% of his election campaign promises? Or, are his policies statements 25% away from actualisation?
How far has Professor, Senator and Governor Benedict Ayade gone with his much-talked-about Signature Projects comprising the Dual Carriage 260km Super Highway and the Bakassi Deep Sea Port? What about the Garment Factory? Was the GF supposed to be completed in 100 days or one year? Will it even be commissioned before or come 29 May? Is the Green Police 25% activated? What about the 1000 jobs Ayade promised in 100 days? For fairness, have 25% of 1000 Cross Riverians been employed either directly or indirectly courtesy of the policies of Governor Ben Ayade? Have Ayade been able to raise the 25% of the £500 million needed to fix the Signature Projects? What has Ayade accomplished beyond payment of Salaries to a cross section of his state work force and commissioning of the Calabar Monorail began by former Governor Donald Duke?
Today, the characteristics 'clean, green and serene' feature of the state capital, Calabar, has eluded her: The state is as dirty as possible; cult group, kidnappers and delinquent kids (Scolombo) are in their elements. The former hostess of the world is now an eyesore. The Ben Ayade administration is a bully government: you would remember that at the out set of Ayade's administration last year, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Okim, ordered the brutal beating of some guys who allegedly argued against his position while in a meeting at Obudu or so, recently it was reported that the State Security Adviser to the Governor ordered the beating to pulp of traditional rulers from Obudu whom the governor invited to his office. I have also heard of the Ayade's Sports Commissioner, Mr. Asu, moving around with hoodlums threatening defenseless civilians. Politicians have not been paid their salaries, former politicians have not been given their severance packages, local government staff are owed and are not treated like their counterpart in the state civil service especially in terms of remuneration. To cap it all, we have numerous MoUs signed with God knows whom which includes to a cross section of his state work force;and the worst of all, an over bloated EXCO whose economic burden tell heavily on all strata of the state.
The above constitute the plethora of negativities which the Ben Ayade wants Cross Riverians to be oblivious off or less alive to on the 29th of May and beyond. It stands to reason then that, by paying the May 2016 salaries on May Day, he just surreptitiously conscripted staff of the state civil service into his brainwashed army that will defend his course before critics and perceived enemies come 29th May and beyond.
Efio-Ita Nyok
Is a Blogger & the Editor of Negroid Haven
