Updated: Cross River government unhappy about media reportage of clergy decline of monetary donation from Governor Ayade

The Cross River State government through Mr. Timothy Akwaji, Head of Service has reacted to the story making headlines about the subtle decline of Ayade’s donation by the Catholic Bishop of Uyo, Most Rev. John Ayah.

Akwaji who addressed some journalists Tuesday at the Press Centre urged the media to be temperate in their reportage of events saying as a devote Catholic the governor was trying to appreciate the Catholic Bishop of Uyo, a gesture devoid of any political undertone to have warranted the bend by a section of the press with the probability of portraying the gesture in a bad light.

He noted as well that Ayade is Civil servant friendly and has been diligent in the payment of salary and pensions to workers in the state.

Reminiscing the episode, the Catholic Bishop of Uyo, John Ayah was reported to have received a spontaneous ovation from the congregation on Sunday at the St. Patrick Catholic Church in Ikot Ansa, Calabar, when he rebuffed Governor Ben Ayade’s financial offer asking him instead to “kindly add the whisper to the salary of your workers and pay them I don’t need it.”

The scenario which had Ayade telling the clergy “Before you depart to Uyo from Calabar, I will whisper to you,” occurred at the thanksgiving mass in honour of Justice Emmanuel Agim on his elevation to the Supreme Court.

At the event, after launching the 2022 harvest theme and donating N25 million the governor was booed as the majority of Cross Riverians are unhappy about his unwillingness to pay monthly salaries to workers on the state payroll as well as financial outstandings to pensioners.

As Governor Ben Ayade navigates his remaining 294 days in office there are clear indications that many more of these kinds of protests will occur even impacting the campaign of Prince Bassey Otu, the governorship standard bearer of the All Progressives Congress in the state.

By: Archibong Emmanuel
(Snr. Reporter)