IMPUNITY In Cross River: Brother Rules, Deputy Idle As Governor 'Goes Missing' Since January

The Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade has reportedly abandoned his duty post since the last week of January, without formally informing the House of Assembly and transferring power to his deputy, Professor Ivara Esu.

The Governor who opted to be Away Without Official Leave, AWOL, reportedly failed to tell Cross Riverians or transmit a letter to the state House of Assembly to let them know that he was leaving the state and his whereabouts. Instead, his younger brother, Dr Frank Ayade has reportedly been de facto ‘acting governor’, leaving the deputy governor in the cold as he pulls the power strings on behalf of the Governor.

PM News reports that a concerned citizen of the state, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla sounded the alarm about this development that has made Ayade’s whereabouts a matter of intense speculation and conjecture in the State.

“The Governor did not tell the people if he was proceeding to leave or going for vacation! Section 190 subsection 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), stipulates that if the Governor is going on vacation or in the event he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, he must transmit a written declaration to the Speaker of the House of Assembly to that effect, and until he transmits to the Speaker of the House of Assembly a written declaration to the contrary the Deputy Governor shall perform the functions of the Governor as Acting Governor.

“Since Governor Ben Ayade travelled out of the country nearly ten weeks ago without transmitting a written declaration to the Speaker of the House of Assembly, that he is proceeding on vacation or he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office to enable the Deputy Governor, Professor Ivara Esu assume office as Acting Governor, there can be no doubt the Cross River State has no leader presently.

“This is so because the Deputy Governor, Professor Esu cannot rightly assume the position of Acting Governor since Governor Ayade failed to invoked Section 190 subsection 1 of the Constitution, by transmitting a written declaration to the Speaker of the House of Assembly that he would be going on leave or vacation or he would be otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office.

“In the light of the constitutional vacuum created by the failure of Governor Ayade to transmit a written declaration to the Speaker of the House of Assembly that he is on leave or vacation or he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office within 21 days; I therefore urge the Cross River State House of Assembly to immediately invoke the provisions of Section 190 subsection 2 of the Constitution and by a resolution made by a simple majority of the vote of the House, mandate Deputy Governor, Professor Ivara Ejemot Esu to perform the functions of the office Governor as Acting Governor, until when Governor Ayade transmit a letter to the Speaker that he is now available to assume his office as Governor of the State.

“The Cross River State House of Assembly must act now or otherwise the people will be entitled to dismiss it as lackey or stooge of Governor Ayade! It is simply absurd, ridiculous, charade and a constitutional aberration for the House of Assembly to allow one Frank Ayade to continue to present or hold or masquerade as “Co-Governor” or “Acting Governor”.

Meanwhile, Governor Ayade has been active on Twitter, where he has used his handle to parry questions, explain issues of governance in the state as well as early payment of last month’s salary.

Why C'River State House of Assembly Must Make Prof. Ivara Esu Acting Governor, By Barr Okoi Obono-Obla

Prof. Ivara Esu 

The Governor of Cross River State, Governor Ben Ayade has continuously been absent from the country since the last week of January 2016! He did not bother to tell the people of the State where he was travelling to! Till this moment the whereabout of Governor Ayade has become a matter of intense speculation and conjecture in the State. 

The Governor did not tell the people if he was proceeding to leave or going for vacation! Section 190 subsection 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,1999 (as amended) stipulates that if the Governor is going on vacation or he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, he must transmit a written declaration to the Speaker of the House of Assembly to that effect, and until he transmits to the Speaker of the House of Assembly a written declaration to the contrary, the Deputy Governor shall perform the functions of the Governor as Acting Governor. 

Since Governor Ben Ayade traveled out of the country nearly ten weeks ago without transmitting a written declaration to the Speaker of the House of Assembly that he is proceeding on vacation or he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office to enable the Deputy Governor, Professor Ivara Esu perform the functions of his office as Acting Governor; there can be no doubt the Cross River State has no leader presently. This is so because the Deputy Governor,Professor Esu cannot rightly assume the position of Acting Governor since Governor Ayade failed to invoke Section 190 subsection 1 of the Constitution by transmitting a written declaration to the Speaker of the House of Assembly that he would be going on vacation or he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office. 

In the light of the constitutional vacuum created by the failure of Governor Ayade to transmit a written declaration to the Speaker of the House of Assembly that he would going on vacation or he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office within 21 days; I therefore urge the Cross River State House of Assembly to immediately invoke the provisions of Section 190 subsection 2 of the Constitution and by a resolution made by a simple majority of the vote of the House mandate Deputy Governor,Professor Ivara Ejemot Esu to perform the functions of the office Governor as Acting Governor, until when Governor Ayade transmit a letter to the Speaker that he is now available to assume his office as Governor of the State. 

The Cross River State House of Assembly must act now or otherwise the people will be entitle to dismiss it as lackey or stooge of Governor Ayade! It is simply absurd, ridiculous, charade and a constitutional aberration for the House of Assembly to allow one Frank Ayade to continue to present or hold or masquerade as "Co-Governor" or "Acting Governor".

Okoi Obono-Obla ‎

The Use of Siren by Frank Ayade is a Blatant Illegality, By Barr. Okoi Obono-Obla

GOV. BEN AYADE OF C'RIVER STATE

It is a notorious fact that one Frank Ayade is the younger brother of Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State of Nigeria! Preposterously Frank Ayade is referred to by Governor Ayade as "Co-Governor"! 

I am not really bothered by which nomenclature, Governor Ayade elect to call or prefer to call his brother, Frank Ayade. But I am disturbed when Frank Ayade assumes the toga of the paraphernalia of a de facto Governor by making appointments, sacking these appointees and driving in a convoy of official motorcade escorted by siren blaring pilot vehicles! It is a blatant illegality for Frank Ayade to continue to perpetrate this Illegality in Cross River State. 

I remembered on the 15th September 2015, the Nigeria Police Force through it then Force Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Kolawole (Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police) warned that the Police would not hesitate to arrest any unauthorized persons found using siren. She then listed the categories of persons entitled to use siren thus:                                                       

President Muhammadu Buhari ; Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo ;The Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki; The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara;The Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu;The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives,Yusuf Lasun; The 36 State Governors; All Service Chiefs (the Chiefs of Staffs of Air force, Army and Navy); Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase; General Officers Commanding; Deputy Inspector General of Police; Assistant Inspector General of Police and Commissioner of Police of States.

Under the Federal Highways ( Prohibition of Use of Siren) Act,2000, only two categories of persons and establishments can use siren in the Federal Highways. They are the following persons thus: The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria ;The Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria ; The President of the Senate;The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Chief Justice of Nigeria. 

Under the category of establishments that are entitled to use the Siren are thus: Federal Fire Service; Hospitals and Ambulance Service Providers ; the Nigeria Police and the Federal Road Safety Corps.So the use of Siren by Frank Ayade is patently illegal and indeed an aberration which the Commissioner of Police in Cross River State must an end to forthwith!

Okoi Obono-Obla

Why Gov. Ben Ayade Must Be Impeached By C'River House of Assembly, By Obono-Obla

Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari laid a good and exemplary precedent by writing to the National Assembly pursuant to Section 145 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) that he would be proceeding on vacation and in his absence his functions as President should be performed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as Acting President. Section 145 of the Constitution provides that whenever the President is proceeding on vacation or otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his Office,he shall transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to that effect, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, the Vice President shall perform the functions of the President as Acting President.  

This section of the Constitution was introduced after the legal conundrum that resulted from the failure of late President Umaru Musa Yaradua to hand over to the then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan before travelling to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment in November, 2009.  

It is well settled that Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has been out of the country for the past one month. However ,he bluntly refused to transmit a written declaration to the Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly as contemplated by Section 190 subsection 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,1999, that he is unable to discharge the functions of his Office and to that effect Deputy Governor, Professor Ivara Esu shall perform the functions of his Office as Acting Governor! The vacuum created by Governor Ayade blatant violation of Section 190 subsection 1 of the Constitution has lead to the absurdity and illegality of one Frank Ayade usurping and assuming the functions of the Governor of Cross River State! The foundation for this flagrant violation of the Constitution was indeed laid by Governor Ben Ayade himself when in thanksgiving Church service in Obudu Local Government Area way back in August 2015 introduced Frank Ayade as "Co-Governor" to bewilderment and consternation of those present and the media alike!  

I submit that the failure of Governor Ayade to comply with the provisions of Section 190 subsection 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in transmitting a written declaration to the Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly to the effect that by his travelling abroad he would be unable to perform the functions as Governor and that the Deputy Governor, Professor Esu would discharge those functions as Acting Governor of Cross River State of Nigeria. Without much ado, I submit that the action of Governor Ayade is a gross misconduct which undoubtedly is a ground for the Cross River State House of Assembly to initiate and indeed activate the process for his removal from office.

Okoi Obono-Obla ‎

The Vindictiveness of the Government of Cross River State knows no Bound, By Obono-Obla

The judiciary has proven to be the bulk wart against the depotism,oppression and tyranny  and injustice in Cross River State! God bless the Honourable Justice Obojor Ogar of the High Court of Cross River State for exercising his discretionary power to order the Chief Magistrate's Court, Calabar to suspend the purported trial of the indefatigable Barrister Venatius Ikem on a trumped charge! 

 You can imagine a situation where power is concentrated in the hands of one single individual, how people who disagree with the powers that be would have been mercilessly dealt with! The government of Cross River State is becoming increasingly paranoid, petty,  tyrannical and intolerant of any form of dissent and oppression! 

Even when the trumped and contrived charge against Barrister Vena Ikem was pending in the Chief Magistrate's Court, the government lodged a spurious complaint of attempted murder and stealing of government property against him; and compromised the Cross River Police Command which threw professionalism and decency to the winds by rushing to the press to declare Barrister Ikem wanted just to destroy his reputation and standing and portrayed him as a criminal! 

You can imagine how wicked, asinine and mean the government of Cross River State under Ayade has become ! 

You can imagine the pettiness and immaturity shown when some simple tons working in the officialdom decided to post some meaningless writings and mumbo jumbo castigating and insulting  my person just because I was a guest of the African Independent Television,AIT on Thursday the 4th March 2016 to talk about political development in Cross River State .

 Not yet done, the increasingly paranoid and vindictive government of Cross River State went to shameless and ridiculous level of sacking my brother, Obono Ofem Obono ( a member of the PDP)  working with an agency (Cross River State Waste Management Board) of the government of Cross River State just to get at me! Is Governor Ayade suggesting that because I am his critic , members of my family belonging to his Party who contributed to his victory should not survive? What low thinking ! Even if I committed a crime against the government of Cross River State how is my brother to be punished for my own sin? Is there vacarious resposibility in criminal law ? 

The answer is in the negative .  It is a shame that we have just a juvenile, infantile and vindictive government in the State! The Government of Cross River State ought to know by now, that no act of vindictiveness,oppression , blackmail and chatacter assassination would break the resolve of the  opposition in the State .
Okoi Obono-Obla